Title | Association of parenthood with incident heart disease in United States' older men and women: A longitudinal analysis of health and retirement study data. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2020 |
Authors | Hipp, SL, Wu, YYan, Rosendaal, NTA, Pirkle, CM |
Journal | Journal of Aging and Health |
Volume | 32 |
Issue | 7-8 |
Pagination | 517-529 |
Type of Article | Journal |
ISSN Number | 1552-6887 |
Keywords | Gender 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. |
DOI | 10.1177/0898264319831512 |
Citation Key | 10065 |
PubMed ID | 30854914 |