© AlamyHeart broken: Researchers believe the pain of losing a loved one can kill
The immense grief of losing a loved one means that many people die within three years of their husband or wife.
Researchers at St Andrews University have identified a 'widowhood' effect which they claim does not just affect elderly couples, also occurs amongst those in their 30s and 40s.
They found that 40 per cent of women and 26 per cent of men died within three years of their partner.
The study, which will be published next year in the journal Epidemiology, identified a range of causes including cancer, heart diseases, accidents and suicides.
Professor Paul Boyle, chief executive of the Economic and Social Research Council, who led the study, said: 'The key message is that it doesn't matter what causes of death you look at there is still a widowhood effect.
'This is a clear demonstration, we would argue, that social effects, such as losing a partner, have an impact on life expectancy.
'We now have robust evidence that the widowhood effect does exist and that people who lose a partner deserve support because it can leave them in a vulnerable situation.'
The researchers studied the records of more than 58,000 married couples dating back to 1991.
For some, the 'widowhood' effect seemed to occur very quickly and 40 people died within just ten days of their loved one.
At least 12 died on the exact same day. They concluded that people were most likely to die within six months of their partner, but the widowhood effect could last ten years.
Last December the American actress Brittany Murphy died aged 32 from pneumonia after taking prescription drugs.
Just five months later her husband, British screenwriter Simon Monjack, 40, died from a sudden cardiac arrest.
And in 2005, former prime minister James Callaghan died aged 92, just 11 days after his wife of 67 years Audrey.
it's really depression after such an incident that if left untreated usually leads to cancer or suicide.