Association of parenthood with incident heart disease in United States' older men and women: A longitudinal analysis of health and retirement study data.

TitleAssociation of parenthood with incident heart disease in United States' older men and women: A longitudinal analysis of health and retirement study data.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsHipp, SL, Wu, YYan, Rosendaal, NTA, Pirkle, CM
JournalJournal of Aging and Health
Volume32
Issue7-8
Pagination517-529
Type of ArticleJournal
ISSN Number1552-6887
KeywordsGender Differences, Heart disease, Parents, Risk Factors, Socioeconomic factors
Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of number of children birthed/fathered with incident heart disease, accounting for socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics.

METHODS: We analyzed data from 24,923 adults 50 and older (55% women) in the Health and Retirement Study. Participants self-reported number of children and doctor-diagnosed incident heart disease. Cox proportional hazards models estimated heart disease risk.

RESULTS: Compared to women with one to two children, those with five or more had increased risk of heart disease (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.13, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.03, 1.25]). Compared to men with one to two children, those with five or more had a marginally increased risk of heart disease (HR = 1.11, 95% CI = [0.99, 1.25]), but this association attenuated in models adjusting for socioeconomic and lifestyle variables. Compared to men with no children, those with five or more retained a borderline significant association in the fully adjusted model (HR = 1.15, 95% CI = [0.99, 1.35]).

DISCUSSION: Social and lifestyle pathways appear to link parenthood to cardiovascular health.

DOI10.1177/0898264319831512
Citation Key10065
PubMed ID30854914