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Impact of parental multiple sclerosis on early childhood development: A retrospective cohort study
Neda Razaz1, Helen Tremlett2, W Thomas Boyce3
1School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Insights
Parental multiple sclerosis (MS) did not directly impact child development. However, children with parents experiencing mental health issues or longer exposure to parental MS showed increased developmental vulnerability.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Neurology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Parental chronic illness can negatively affect child development.
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological condition impacting families.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between parental multiple sclerosis (MS) and early childhood developmental outcomes.
- To identify specific risk factors within families affected by MS.
Main Methods:
- Population-based retrospective cohort study in Manitoba, Canada.
- Utilized linked databases for data collection.
- Assessed childhood development at age 5 using the Early Development Instrument (EDI).
Main Results:
- No direct association found between parental MS and overall childhood developmental vulnerability.
- Parental mental health morbidity was linked to social competence and emotional maturity vulnerabilities in children.
- Longer duration of exposure to parental MS correlated with physical health domain vulnerabilities.
Conclusions:
- Parental MS itself is not a predictor of adverse early childhood development.
- Childhood developmental vulnerability is associated with parental mental health and duration of exposure to parental MS.
- Targeted support for families with parental MS, focusing on mental health and duration of illness, may be beneficial.
Background:
Exposure to parental chronic illness is associated with several adverse developmental outcomes.
Objectives:
We examined the association between parental multiple sclerosis (MS) and childhood developmental outcomes.
Methods:
We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study in Manitoba, Canada, using linked databases. The outcome was childhood development at 5 years of age, expressed as vulnerability (absent vs. present) on the Early Development Instrument (EDI). Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Results:
Children with an MS parent (n=153) were similar to children of unaffected parents (n=876) on all EDI domains. However, mental health morbidity was more common among MS parents compared with non-MS parents 49.5% vs. 35.3%. Among MS parents, mental health morbidity was associated with children's vulnerability on the social competence (OR, 5.73 [95% CI:1.11-29.58]) and emotional maturity (OR, 3.03 [95% CI:1.03-8.94]) domains. The duration of child's exposure to parental MS was associated with vulnerability on the physical health domain (OR, 1.49 [95%CI:1.03-2.15]).
Conclusion:
Parental MS was not associated with adverse early childhood developmental outcomes. However, children of parents with mental health morbidity, and those with longer duration of exposure to parental MS, were at higher risk for early childhood developmental vulnerability.
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