Background The death of a young child is so devastating that it can increase the risk of mortality in the grieving parent. Little is known about the impact of an adult child's death on the health of parents.

Methods The authors conducted a follow-up study between 1980 and 2002 based on a linked-registers database that contains the total Swedish population. The authors examined mortality from all causes, natural causes and unnatural causes among parents following the death of children aged 10–49 years.

Results An increased mortality risk (RR 1.31, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.68) in mothers following the death of a minor child (10–17 years) was found and especially following unnatural deaths (primarily accidents and suicides). Mothers also experienced elevated mortality following the death of an adult child aged 18–25 years (RR 1.15, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.29). Bereavement effects among fathers were more attenuated and chiefly found after >8 years of follow-up. From a short-term perspective (1–3 years), the death of an adult child (>25 years) was somewhat protective for parents. However, over longer follow-up periods, it approached (4–8 years) and exceeded (>8 years) the death risk of the general population.

Conclusions These findings corroborate and extend earlier findings suggesting elevated mortality risks also following the death of an adult child.