TY - JOUR

T1 - Parental mental illness, attendance at preventive child healthcare and dental caries in the offspring

T2 - a nation-wide population-based cohort study

AU - Davidsen, Kirstine A.

AU - Christiansen, Erik

AU - Haubek, Dorte

AU - Asmussen, Jette

AU - Ranning, Anne

AU - Thorup, Anne Amalie Elgaard

AU - Nordentoft, Merete

AU - Harder, Susanne

AU - Bilenberg, Niels

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Purpose Severe mental illness (SMI) may interfere with parental caregiving practices and offspring development. Adhering to preventive well-child visits and maintaining good oral hygiene during early childhood requires parental involvement. Whether these activities are affected by parental SMI is unclear. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether children exposed to parental SMI are at increased risk of non-attendance to preventive well-child visits and vaccinations at age 0-5 years and of child dental caries experience at age 5 years. Furthermore, interactions between maternal psychiatric and sociodemographic variables in relation to an adverse child outcome were assessed. Methods Data were obtained from national Danish health registers. All children born in Denmark between January 1997 and December 2010 were followed from birth until their 6th birthday. Results 679,339 children were included in the study (51% male). Of these, 49,059 children (7.8%) had at least one parent with a lifetime SMI diagnosis. Children of parents with SMI had elevated odds of missing well-child visits and vaccinations (OR 1.41; 95% CI 1.39-1.44,p <0.0001), and of child dental caries (OR 1.58; 95% CI 1.55-1.62,p <0.0001). In the presence of maternal SMI, low socioeconomic classification and single-mother status added more to the elevated risk than specific maternal diagnosis or timing of last psychiatric contact. Conclusion Parents with SMI are less compliant with preventive child healthcare activities than parents without SMI. This indicates a need for practical support to these families in order to prevent inequality in health among their offspring.

AB - Purpose Severe mental illness (SMI) may interfere with parental caregiving practices and offspring development. Adhering to preventive well-child visits and maintaining good oral hygiene during early childhood requires parental involvement. Whether these activities are affected by parental SMI is unclear. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether children exposed to parental SMI are at increased risk of non-attendance to preventive well-child visits and vaccinations at age 0-5 years and of child dental caries experience at age 5 years. Furthermore, interactions between maternal psychiatric and sociodemographic variables in relation to an adverse child outcome were assessed. Methods Data were obtained from national Danish health registers. All children born in Denmark between January 1997 and December 2010 were followed from birth until their 6th birthday. Results 679,339 children were included in the study (51% male). Of these, 49,059 children (7.8%) had at least one parent with a lifetime SMI diagnosis. Children of parents with SMI had elevated odds of missing well-child visits and vaccinations (OR 1.41; 95% CI 1.39-1.44,p <0.0001), and of child dental caries (OR 1.58; 95% CI 1.55-1.62,p <0.0001). In the presence of maternal SMI, low socioeconomic classification and single-mother status added more to the elevated risk than specific maternal diagnosis or timing of last psychiatric contact. Conclusion Parents with SMI are less compliant with preventive child healthcare activities than parents without SMI. This indicates a need for practical support to these families in order to prevent inequality in health among their offspring.

KW - Offspring of parents with mental disorders

KW - Preventive child health care

KW - Child oral health

KW - Prevention

KW - MATERNAL DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS

KW - ORAL-HEALTH

KW - ASSOCIATION

KW - PREVALENCE

KW - LITERACY

KW - SERVICES

KW - DENMARK

KW - ANXIETY

KW - MOTHERS

KW - PEOPLE

U2 - 10.1007/s00127-020-01936-3

DO - 10.1007/s00127-020-01936-3

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 32812086

VL - 56

SP - 583

EP - 592

JO - Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology

JF - Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology

SN - 0933-7954

ER -