According to a recent study on antidepressant use, women may experience more mental health difficulties following a breakup later in life compared to men. The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, examined the use of antidepressants among men and women during and after various types of separations, including death, divorce, or non-marital separation.
Researchers discovered that women showed a greater increase in antidepressant use than men before a divorce or breakup and also had fewer reductions in drug use after entering into a new relationship. Niina Metsä-Simola, a lecturer at the University of Helsinki and co-author of the study, noted that the findings suggest that the negative mental health impacts of divorce are more pronounced in women, while the positive effects of entering a new relationship are weaker for them.
The study included data from over 220,000 Finnish residents who experienced the end of a relationship due to death, divorce, or non-marital separation between 2000 and 2014 at ages 50 to 70. The researchers observed that individuals who separated from a non-marital partner were more likely to find a new partner, while those who were divorced entered new relationships more frequently than those who were bereaved.
The researchers believe that as the population ages, finding a new relationship after a separation later in life is becoming increasingly common. They also found that in the four years preceding the end of a relationship, antidepressant use increased for both genders and accelerated after the death, divorce, or breakup, with separations at age 50 and older being linked to a 3 to 7 per cent rise in antidepressant use.
One reason for the observed gender differences is the potential greater economic impact of divorce on women than men. While the study factored in changes in income and home ownership, it may not fully capture changes in living conditions or economic hardship following separation. Additionally, the researchers noted that since women generally use antidepressants more than men, they may be more likely to continue using them after the initial shock of separation has passed.
It is important to note that the study did not consider the number or duration of people’s relationships. Another study conducted in 2018 in Germany found that while there were similarities between women and men in the social outcomes after divorce, one key area where differences existed was “women’s disproportionate losses in household income and associated increases in their risk of poverty and single parenting.”
The study’s findings align with the notion that living with a partner may be more beneficial to men than women. According to Metsä-Simola, older men may be more inclined to seek emotional support from a new partner following the dissolution of a previous union, while women may take on greater responsibility in managing relationships within new blended families, which could have a negative impact on their mental health.
