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The impact of parenthood on risk of registration for alcohol use disorder in married individuals: a Swedish population-based analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 October 2018

Kenneth S. Kendler ,
Sara Larsson Lönn ,
Jessica E. Salvatore ,
Jan Sundquist  and
Kristina Sundquist
Kenneth S. Kendler*
Affiliation:
Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VA, USA Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
Sara Larsson Lönn
Affiliation:
Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
Jessica E. Salvatore
Affiliation:
Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VA, USA
Jan Sundquist
Affiliation:
Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA Department of Functional Pathology, Center for Community-based Healthcare Research and Education (CoHRE), School of Medicine, Shimane University, Shimane, Japan
Kristina Sundquist
Affiliation:
Center for Primary Health Care Research, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA Department of Functional Pathology, Center for Community-based Healthcare Research and Education (CoHRE), School of Medicine, Shimane University, Shimane, Japan
*
Author for correspondence: Kenneth S. Kendler, E-mail: Kenneth.Kendler@vcuhealth.org
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Abstract

Background

Although being married with children is associated with a reduced rate of alcohol use disorder (AUD), is this finding independent of a marital effect, different in mothers and fathers and potentially causal in effect.

Methods

Using Cox proportional hazards, we examined, in 1 252 237 married individuals, the association between a resident younger and older child and risk for AUD registration in national medical, criminal, and pharmacy registers. Using logistic regression, we analyzed, in 600 219 parents, within-person models comparing risk for AUD prior to first pregnancy v. with young children. We examined whether risk for AUD in 1302 parents after a first spousal AUD registration was reduced by having a young resident child.

Results

Compared with childless married individuals, resident younger children were associated with a reduced risk for AUD in mothers [hazard ratio (HR) 0.36, 95% confidence interval 0.31–0.41] and fathers (HR 0.66, 0.60–0.73). The reduced risk was attenuated but still significant for older children. Within-person models confirmed the protective effect of young children in mothers [odds ratio (OR) 0.49, 0.30–0.80] but yielded inconclusive results in fathers (OR 0.85, 0.58–1.25). After a first spousal registration for AUD, a resident young child was associated with a substantial reduction in risk for mothers and a weaker marginal effect in fathers.

Conclusion

In married individuals, resident children are associated with a reduction in basal risk for AUD which is stronger in mothers than fathers and with younger v. older children. This effect is also evident during high-risk periods. In mothers, our results are consistent with a largely causal effect.

Keywords

Alcohol use disorderchildrenepidemiologymarriage
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 49 , Issue 13 , October 2019 , pp. 2141 - 2148
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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