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Maternal age at childbirth and offspring disruptive behaviors: testing the causal hypothesis.

ABSTRACT: Recent studies suggest that the association between maternal age at childbearing (MAC) and children's disruptive behaviors is the result of family factors that are confounded with both variables, rather than a casual effect of environmental factors specifically related to MAC. These studies, however, relied on restricted samples and did not use the strongest approach to test causal influences.Using data on 9,171 4-9-year-old and 6,592 10-13-year-old offspring of women from a nationally representative sample of US households, we conducted sibling-comparison analyses. The analyses ruled out all genetic factors that could confound the association, as well as all environmental confounds that differ between unrelated nuclear families, providing a strong test of the causal hypothesis that the environments of children born at different maternal ages influence mother- and self-reported disruptive behaviors.When these genetic and environmental confounds were ruled out as alternative explanations, the relation between environments within nuclear families specifically associated with MAC and disruptive behaviors was robust, with the association being stronger for second- and third-born children.Environmental factors specifically associated with early MAC within nuclear families account for increased risk of offspring disruptive behaviors, especially in later-born children.

SUBMITTER: D'Onofrio BM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2936232 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Maternal age at childbirth and offspring disruptive behaviors: testing the causal hypothesis.

D'Onofrio Brian M BM Goodnight Jackson A JA Van Hulle Carol A CA Rodgers Joseph Lee JL Rathouz Paul J PJ Waldman Irwin D ID Lahey Benjamin B BB

Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines 20090311 8

<h4>Background</h4>Recent studies suggest that the association between maternal age at childbearing (MAC) and children's disruptive behaviors is the result of family factors that are confounded with both variables, rather than a casual effect of environmental factors specifically related to MAC. These studies, however, relied on restricted samples and did not use the strongest approach to test causal influences.<h4>Methods</h4>Using data on 9,171 4-9-year-old and 6,592 10-13-year-old offspring o ...[more]

PMID: 19281603

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Both young and advanced maternal age is associated with adverse birth and child outcomes. Few studies have examined these associations in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) and none have studied adult outcomes in the offspring. We aimed to examine both child and adult outcomes in five LMICs. METHODS:In this prospective study, we pooled data from COHORTS (Consortium for Health Orientated Research in Transitioning Societies)-a collaboration of five birth cohorts from LMICs (Brazil, Guatemala, India, the Philippines, and South Africa), in which mothers were recruited before or during pregnancy, and the children followed up to adulthood. We examined associations between maternal age and offspring birthweight, gestational age at birth, height-for-age and weight-for-height Z scores in childhood, attained schooling, and adult height, body composition (body-mass index, waist circumference, fat, and lean mass), and cardiometabolic risk factors (blood pressure and fasting plasma glucose concentration), along with binary variables derived from these. Analyses were unadjusted and adjusted for maternal socioeconomic status, height and parity, and breastfeeding duration. FINDINGS:We obtained data for 22?188 mothers from the five cohorts, enrolment into which took place at various times between 1969 and 1989. Data for maternal age and at least one outcome were available for 19?403 offspring (87%). In unadjusted analyses, younger (?19 years) and older (?35 years) maternal age were associated with lower birthweight, gestational age, child nutritional status, and schooling. After adjustment, associations with younger maternal age remained for low birthweight (odds ratio [OR] 1·18 (95% CI 1·02-1·36)], preterm birth (1·26 [1·03-1·53]), 2-year stunting (1·46 [1·25-1·70]), and failure to complete secondary schooling (1·38 [1·18-1·62]) compared with mothers aged 20-24 years. After adjustment, older maternal age remained associated with increased risk of preterm birth (OR 1·33 [95% CI 1·05-1·67]), but children of older mothers had less 2-year stunting (0·64 [0·54-0·77]) and failure to complete secondary schooling (0·59 [0·48-0·71]) than did those with mothers aged 20-24 years. Offspring of both younger and older mothers had higher adult fasting glucose concentrations (roughly 0·05 mmol/L). INTERPRETATION:Children of young mothers in LMICs are disadvantaged at birth and in childhood nutrition and schooling. Efforts to prevent early childbearing should be strengthened. After adjustment for confounders, children of older mothers have advantages in nutritional status and schooling. Extremes of maternal age could be associated with disturbed offspring glucose metabolism. FUNDING:Wellcome Trust and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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Maternal age at childbirth and offspring disruptive behaviors: testing the causal hypothesis.

Publications

Maternal age at childbirth and offspring disruptive behaviors: testing the causal hypothesis.

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