@article {10065, title = {Association of parenthood with incident heart disease in United States{\textquoteright} older men and women: A longitudinal analysis of health and retirement study data.}, journal = {Journal of Aging and Health}, volume = {32}, year = {2020}, pages = {517-529}, type = {Journal}, 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.

}, keywords = {Gender Differences, Heart disease, Parents, Risk Factors, Socioeconomic factors}, issn = {1552-6887}, doi = {10.1177/0898264319831512}, author = {Sarah L Hipp and Wu, Yan Yan and Nicole T A Rosendaal and Catherine M. Pirkle} }