Parental separation and offspring morbidity in adulthood: a descriptive study of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 ...

Aims: Rates of parental separation have increased dramatically in recent decades. We evaluated the association of individuals’ childhood family structure with their somatic health over 46 years of follow-up. Methods: Data were drawn from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort, an ongoing project in which...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Varis, Heidi, Hagnäs, Maria, Mikkola, Ilona, Nordström, Tanja, Puukka, Katri, Taanila, Anja, Keinänen-Kiukaanniemi, Sirkka
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
Published: SAGE Journals 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.25384/sage.c.5439040
https://sage.figshare.com/collections/Parental_separation_and_offspring_morbidity_in_adulthood_a_descriptive_study_of_the_Northern_Finland_Birth_Cohort_1966/5439040
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Summary:Aims: Rates of parental separation have increased dramatically in recent decades. We evaluated the association of individuals’ childhood family structure with their somatic health over 46 years of follow-up. Methods: Data were drawn from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort, an ongoing project in which 12,058 participants born in 1966 have been followed from their 24th gestational week. Based on information supplied at age 14 years, family structure was categorised as ‘single-parent family’ and ‘two-parent family’. The anthropometric information, data from blood samples and medical history were collected from postal questionnaires and clinical examinations routinely performed at the ages of 31 and 46 years. Results: The study population comprised a total of 10,895 individuals; 85% ( n =9253) were offspring of two-parent families and 15% ( n =1642) of single-parent families. Type 2 diabetes ( P =0.032) or prediabetes ( P =0.007), psychoactive drug problems ( P <0.001) and sexually transmitted diseases ( P ...