Single dads at higher death risk than moms

Margaret Wambui lost her husband to a heart disease a decade ago when their two children were aged six and four years.

To avoid causing any psychological disturbance to the kids, she opted to raise them solely hence shut the door to dating or remarrying after the death of her spouse.

“I know it may work for some people. But I just didn’t want to take the risk and end up affecting the children in any way.”

Whereas many women like Wambui are able to effectively cope with raising children as single parents, men in similar circumstances often find the task daunting.

Some may thus decide to re-marry fast or choose to have the children raised by their grandparents.

However, when such options are not attainable, the parenting role could take a toll on most men.

Indeed, new research published in The Lancet Public Health journal shows that single fathers have a higher risk of premature mortality than single mothers and partnered parents.

The observational study tracked more than 40,000 parents (single fathers, single mothers, partnered fathers and partnered mothers) in Canada for 11 years.

The single parents included people who were living at home with one or more biological or adopted children under the age of 25. They were either divorced, separated, widowed, single, never married, or not living with a partner at the time of the study.

Single fathers’ mortality risk over the period was more than two times higher compared to the other parents.

These fathers had a higher prevalence of cancer than single mothers and partnered parents. Their risk for cardiovascular disease was also higher than that of single and partnered mothers.

Moreover, single fathers were more likely than partnered fathers to have had an emergency medical visit or hospital admission in the past year. While the leading cause of death for single fathers remained unclear, the study revealed that they were more likely to lead unhealthy lifestyles.

For example, they ate fewer fruits and vegetables. They were also more likely to binge drink than single mothers and partnered parents. 

“Our research highlights that single fathers have higher mortality, and demonstrates a need for public health policies to help identify and support these men,” said Dr Maria Chiu, lead author of the study from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and University of Toronto, Canada.

The authors suggested that social support may also be an issue for single fathers who may be less likely to have social networks, social assistance and child support.

Ms Susan Njoroge, a marriage and family counselling psychologist states that compared to men, women are social and tend to interact more with fellow women and other members of the community through forums such as church committees, investment groups (chamas) and friends gatherings.

They thus enjoy a ready social support system that can help them deal with grief and cope with raising children alone after losing their partners.

“Women talk. They’re able to share their problems and therefore learn from experiences of other single parents. So they end up not feeling alone even if their partners are absent.”

“But men tend to bottle up the grief and difficult experiences they go through. They don’t readily express emotions or feelings of grief even with fellow men. They suffer in silence and this can affect their health.”

While it is mostly considered okay or normal for children to be raised by single mothers, Ms Njoroge notes that society finds it awkward when men follow the same path as they are usually viewed as ‘clueless’ in child nurturing.

“As a result, the community puts a lot of pressure on them to re-marry and may even plan for arranged marriages or offer to link them up to potential partners.”

She states that through sufficient counselling and therapy, men can be helped to deal with grief effectively whilst acquiring skills that can make them great single fathers.

“This is achievable. So as a man, you can choose to take your time and not rush into another marriage out of fear that it’s impossible to raise kids when you’re alone.”

The ability of women to cope effectively with stress has also been linked to oestrogen, which is the main female sexual hormone.

An experimental study conducted on mouse by University of Buffalo researchers found that females respond better to stress than males because of the protective effect of oestrogen.

Young female mice exposed to one week of periodic physical restraint stress during the study showed no impairment in their ability to remember and recognise objects that they had previously been shown. In contrast, young male mice exposed to the same stress were impaired in their short-term memory.

The reverse happened when the amount of oestrogen produced in the brain was enhanced in males and suppressed in females.

The researchers, whose work was published in the Molecular Psychiatry journal, thus recommended that the development of compounds similar to oestrogen that can be administered without causing hormonal side effects could prove to be a very effective treatment for stress related problems in men.

The stressors used in the experiment mimicked challenging and stressful experiences that humans face such as those causing frustration and feelings of being under pressure.