Additional mortality risk in old age widows and widowers in Argentina, 2015-2016

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Population ageing is probably the most important demographic phenomenon of the 21st century. However, in
demographic dynamics, certain disparities still persist in the time that people of different age, sex and social class live. The objective of this study was to analyze and describe differential mortality of adults aged 65 and above from July 2015 to June 2016, especially considering the risk of those individuals who had lost their partner (widows and widowers) in Argentina. METHODS: An ecological study was conducted, by using unusual data sources for demographic and epidemiological studies: aggregate records provided by the National Administration of Social Security (ANSES). With such instrument, mortality  differentials were observed by sex, age and pension type. Three groups were compared: those who had lost their partner (and as a result received a survivorship pension) and those who had not (two groups of pensioners getting different benefits based on their working history). Given the uneven age structures in the groups, a series of methods were applied for decomposition and control of age structure effects at aggregate level. RESULTS: Individuals receiving a survivorship pension had higher death risks than the remaining pensioner population and lower remaining life expectancy age 65. DISCUSSION: In spite of some limitations, this study allowed to estimate for the first time the differential mortality risks in old age widows and widowers in Argentina.