# A Grieving Heart: Does Feeling Burdensome to Others Impact Inflammatory Outcomes During Spousal Bereavement?

> **NIH NIH F32** · RICE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $25,567

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Grieving the death of a spouse is an extremely stressful life event. The grieving process may extend for a long
period of time, taking a physical, mental, and emotional toll on the bereaved. Bereaved individuals are at an
increased risk for morbidity and mortality, particularly within the first 6 months following the loss. Mortality rates
are heavily imbalanced by cardiovascular-related deaths, which account for 20-53% of deaths following the
loss of a spouse. However, researchers lack an understanding of the psychosocial aspects that may help
explain why some bereaved individuals die of a “broken heart”, while others do not. Self-perceived burden, a
psychosocial stressor, refers to a concern for the impact on others of one’s care needs resulting in guilt,
distress, feelings of responsibility, and diminished sense of self. Psychosocial stressors promote transcription
nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) activation, a prime pathway for upregulating proinflammatory cytokine
production. Inflammation is central to all stages of CVD and our preliminary data identifies inflammation as a
potential mechanism underlying CVD among the bereaved. Further, because self-perceived burden is a
psychosocial stressor, it may impact bereaved individuals’ CVD risk by promoting systemic inflammation,
thereby damaging the heart. Thus, it is important to understand when and if self-perceived burden develops
during bereavement, and how it impacts CVD risk via inflammation. In the current study, we aim to investigate
self-perceived burden, a novel psychosocial stressor, and its relationship to grief symptoms during the first
year after losing a spouse. In addition, we will longitudinally investigate the relationship between self-perceived
burden and inflammation, a marker of CVD risk. Last, we will explore which issues appear first in the time
course during the grief trajectory; specifically, we will examine whether self-perceived burden partially mediates
the relationship between earlier grief symptoms (2 months post-loss) and later inflammation (12 months post-
loss). Concurrent with an R01 project funded by NHLBI, this project will examine grief symptoms, self-
perceived burden, and inflammation among a sample of 160 bereaved individuals who recently lost their
spouse. These associations will be examined longitudinally, with data collected at 2 months, 4 months, 6
months, and 12 months after the spouse’s passing. Investigation of the relationship between self-
perceived burden and inflammation would further our understanding of who may be at risk for CVD.
Importantly, self-perceived burden is a modifiable risk factor; results may yield important information
related to the development or revision of existing clinical interventions for bereaved individuals
targeting disease prevention.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10541666
- **Project number:** 3F32HL146064-03S2
- **Recipient organization:** RICE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Angie S LeRoy
- **Activity code:** F32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $25,567
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-01-30 → 2022-06-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10541666

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10541666, A Grieving Heart: Does Feeling Burdensome to Others Impact Inflammatory Outcomes During Spousal Bereavement? (3F32HL146064-03S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10541666. Licensed CC0.

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