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Experience of sibling death in childhood and risk of psychiatric care in adulthood: a national cohort study from Sweden.

ABSTRACT: Studies have found that sibling loss is associated with an increased risk of death from external causes (i.e. suicides, accidents and homicides). Increased psychiatric health problems following bereavement could underlie such an association. We studied the influence of sibling loss during childhood on psychiatric care in young adulthood, adjusting for psychosocial covariates shared by siblings in childhood. A national cohort born in Sweden in 1973-1982 (N?=?701,270) was followed prospectively until 2013. Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyse the association between sibling loss during childhood and psychiatric inpatient and outpatient care identified by the Hospital Discharge Register. After adjustment for confounders, the HRs of psychiatric care in men who experienced sibling loss were 1.17 (95% CI 1.07-1.27) while the associations turned non-significant in women after adjustment for family-related psychosocial covariates, HR 1.07 (95% CI 0.99-1.16). An increased risk was found in men bereaved in early childhood (1.22 95% CI 1.07-1.38) and adolescence (1.27 95% CI 1.08-1.48). Among women, loss of a sibling during adolescence was significantly associated with psychiatric care (1.19 95% CI 1.03-1.36). Increased psychiatric health problems following bereavement could underlie the previously found association between sibling loss and mortality from external causes. Family-related psychosocial conditions shared by siblings in childhood may account for the association between sibling death and psychiatric care in adulthood.

SUBMITTER: Rostila M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6861357 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Experience of sibling death in childhood and risk of psychiatric care in adulthood: a national cohort study from Sweden.

Rostila Mikael M Berg Lisa L Saarela Jan J Kawachi Ichiro I Hjern Anders A

European child & adolescent psychiatry 20190401 12

Studies have found that sibling loss is associated with an increased risk of death from external causes (i.e. suicides, accidents and homicides). Increased psychiatric health problems following bereavement could underlie such an association. We studied the influence of sibling loss during childhood on psychiatric care in young adulthood, adjusting for psychosocial covariates shared by siblings in childhood. A national cohort born in Sweden in 1973-1982 (N = 701,270) was followed prospectively un ...[more]

PMID: 30937545

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Project description:Reoffending and presence of psychiatric disorders are common in prisoners worldwide. However, whether psychiatric disorders are risk factors for reoffending is still unknown. We aimed to examine the association between psychiatric disorders, including substance use disorder, and violent reoffending.We did a longitudinal cohort study of 47,326 prisoners who were imprisoned since Jan 1, 2000, and released before Dec 31, 2009, in Sweden. We obtained data for diagnosed psychiatric disorders from both inpatient and outpatient registers, and sociodemographic and criminological factors from other population-based registers. We calculated hazard ratios (HRs) for violent reoffending with Cox regression. To control for potential familial confounding, we compared sibling prisoners with and without psychiatric disorders. We calculated population attributable fraction to assess the population effect.Diagnosed psychiatric disorders were associated with an increased hazard of violent reoffending in male (adjusted HR 1·63 [95% CI 1·57-1·70]) and female (2·02 [1·54-2·63]) prisoners, and these associations were independent of measured sociodemographic and criminological factors, and, in men, remained substantial after adjustment for unmeasured familial factors (2·01 [1·66-2·43]). However, findings differed between individual diagnoses and sex. We found some evidence of stronger effects on violent reoffending of alcohol and drug use disorders and bipolar disorder than of other psychiatric disorders. Alcohol use disorder seemed to have a greater effect in women than in men (women 2·08 [1·66-2·60]; men 1·63 [1·56-1·71]). The overall effects of psychiatric disorders did not differ with severity of crime. The hazard of violent reoffending increased in a stepwise way with the number of diagnosed psychiatric disorders. Assuming causality, up to 20% (95% CI 19-22) of violent reoffending in men and 40% (27-52) in women was attributable to the diagnosed psychiatric disorders that we investigated.Certain psychiatric disorders are associated with a substantially increased hazard of violent reoffending. Because these disorders are prevalent and mostly treatable, improvements to prison mental health services could counteract the cycle of reoffending and improve both public health and safety. National violence prevention strategies should consider the role of prison health.Wellcome Trust, Swedish Research Council, and Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare.

Project description:ObjectivesChildhood conditions have been recognised as important predictors of short-term and long-term health outcomes, but few studies have considered status position in the peer group as a possible determinant of adult health. Lower peer status, which often reflects experiences of marginalisation and rejection by peers, may impose inequality experiences and leave long-lasting imprints on health. The present study aimed to examine whether peer status is associated with the risk for circulatory disease in adulthood.DesignProspective cohort study based on the Stockholm Birth Cohort Multigenerational Study(SBC Multigen).SettingStockholm metropolitan area.ParticipantsAll individuals who were born in 1953 and resident in the greater metropolitan area of Stockholm in 1963 (n=14 608). The analytical sample consisted of 5410 males and 5990 females. Peer status was sociometrically assessed in cohort members at age 13. The survey material was linked to inpatient care registers that contained information about circulatory diseases (n=1668) across ages 20-63. Cox proportional hazard models were used for the analysis.Outcome measureCirculatory disease.ResultsPeer marginalisation at age 13 resulted in significantly higher risks of circulatory disease in adulthood among males (HR 1.34; 95% CI 1.09 to 1.64) and females (HR 1.33; 95% CI 1.04 to 1.70) alike. A graded relationship between peer status and circulatory diseases was detected in females (p=0.023). Among males there was a threshold effect, showing that only those in the lowest status position had significantly increased risks of circulatory disease. The associations remained significant after adjusting for various conditions in childhood and adulthood.ConclusionsThis study shows that circulatory diseases in adulthood may be traceable to low peer status and marginalisation in childhood. It is suggested that peer status in late childhood may precede social integration in adolescence and adulthood, acting as a long-term stressor that contributes to circulatory disease through biological, behavioural and psychosocial pathways.

Project description:ImportanceThe death of a close relative is associated with an increased mortality risk among the bereaved, but much less is known about the potential association of the death of a sibling in childhood with mortality in this population.ObjectiveTo examine the association between sibling death in childhood and subsequent mortality risk.Design, setting, and participantsThis population-based cohort study of 5 005 029 participants evaluated linked national registers in Denmark (January 1, 1973, through December 31, 2009) and Sweden (January 1, 1973, through December 31, 2008). A total of 2 060 354 Danish and 2 944 675 Swedish children who survived the first 6 months of their life were included. We excluded 14 children who died of the same external cause as their siblings within 30 days. Data were analyzed from November 2, 2015, through October 14, 2016.ExposuresParticipants were classified as exposed if a sibling died in childhood (age <18 years).Main outcomes and measuresPoisson regression was used to estimate mortality rate ratio (MRR) with the exposure as a time-varying variable.ResultsAmong the 55 818 participants who experienced sibling death in childhood (51.5% male and 48.5% female; median age at loss, 7.0 [interquartile range, 3.3-12.1] years), all-cause mortality risk was increased by 71% (MRR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.57-1.87) during the follow-up of 37 years. The excess mortality risk was observed for groups with specific causes of death, and the higher MRRs were found when the sibling pairs died of the same cause (death due to disease [MRR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.87-2.49]; death due to external cause [MRR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.54-2.37]). The increased mortality risk after sibling death was seen across the follow-up period, regardless of the age at bereavement and the type of death among bereaved siblings, but the magnitude of association was stronger during the first year after sibling death (MRR, 2.51; 95% CI, 1.79-3.54). Higher MRRs were found among sibling pairs with the same sex (MRR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.70-2.18) and close age (MRR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.58-2.37).Conclusions and relevanceBereavement in childhood because of the death of a sibling was associated with an increased risk for mortality in the short and long term. Health care professionals should be aware of individuals' vulnerability due to sibling death, especially for sibling pairs of close age or the same sex. Social and health care support may help to minimize the potential adverse effects on the bereaved sibling.

Dataset Information

Experience of sibling death in childhood and risk of psychiatric care in adulthood: a national cohort study from Sweden.

Publications

Experience of sibling death in childhood and risk of psychiatric care in adulthood: a national cohort study from Sweden.

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