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Maternal Age and Offspring's Educational Attainment.

ABSTRACT: Utilizing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), the current study examines which maternal age at birth provides offspring with optimal opportunities for higher educational attainment. The results show that maternal age has a curvilinear relationship with offspring's educational attainment, i.e., the offspring of younger and older mothers are distinctly disadvantaged. Maternal ages 31 through 40 are associated with the highest offspring educational attainment, suggesting that women who give birth in their 30s have more favorable characteristics than younger or older mothers. The analysis demonstrates that-with the exception of early teenage childbearing-the association between maternal age and offspring's educational attainment likely reflects selection patterns in fertility timing, rather than direct within-family effects of maternal age on offspring's educational attainment. Thus, the results provide insufficient evidence to conclude that delaying childbearing beyond age 18 directly benefits or harms offspring's educational attainment.

SUBMITTER: Fishman SH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6289533 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Maternal Age and Offspring's Educational Attainment.

Fishman Samuel H SH Min Stella S

Journal of marriage and the family 20180522 4

Utilizing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), the current study examines which maternal age at birth provides offspring with optimal opportunities for higher educational attainment. The results show that maternal age has a curvilinear relationship with offspring's educational attainment, i.e., the offspring of younger and older mothers are distinctly disadvantaged. Maternal ages 31 through 40 are associated with the highest offspring educational ...[more]

PMID: 30555181

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Project description:ObjectiveTo determine if first trimester maternal thyroid dysfunction is a critical determinant of child scholastic performance and overall educational attainment.DesignProspective cohort study.SettingAvon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children cohort in the UK.Participants4615 mother-child pairs with an available first trimester sample (median 10 weeks gestation, interquartile range 8-12).ExposuresFree thyroxine, thyroid stimulating hormone, and thyroid peroxidase antibodies assessed as continuous measures and the seven clinical categories of maternal thyroid function.Main outcome measuresFive age-specific national curriculum assessments in 3580 children at entry stage assessment at 54 months, increasing up to 4461 children at their final school assessment at age 15.ResultsNo strong evidence of clinically meaningful associations of first trimester free thyroxine and thyroid stimulating hormone levels with entry stage assessment score or Standard Assessment Test scores at any of the key stages was found. Associations of maternal free thyroxine or thyroid stimulating hormone with the total number of General Certificates of Secondary Education (GCSEs) passed (range 0-16) were all close to the null: free thyroxine, rate ratio per pmol/L 1.00 (95% confidence interval 1.00 to 1.01); and thyroid stimulating hormone, rate ratio 0.98 (0.94 to 1.02). No important relationship was observed when more detailed capped scores of GCSEs allowing for both the number and grade of pass or when language, mathematics, and science performance were examined individually or when all educational assessments undertaken by an individual from school entry to leaving were considered. 200 (4.3%) mothers were newly identified as having hypothyroidism or subclinical hypothyroidism and 97 (2.1%) subclinical hyperthyroidism or hyperthyroidism. Children of mothers with thyroid dysfunction attained an equivalent number of GCSEs and equivalent grades as children of mothers with euthyroidism.ConclusionsMaternal thyroid dysfunction in early pregnancy does not have a clinically important association with impaired child performance at school or educational achievement.

Dataset Information

Maternal Age and Offspring's Educational Attainment.

Publications

Maternal Age and Offspring's Educational Attainment.

Similar Datasets

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