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Paternal violent criminality and preterm birth: a Swedish national cohort study

Can Liu1,2, Niklas Långström3,4, Cecilia Ekéus5

  • 1Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS), Karolinska Institutet/Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden. can.liu@ki.se.

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
|May 21, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Paternal violent crime is linked to a higher risk of preterm birth in infants. This association persists even when accounting for stable maternal factors across pregnancies.

Area of Science:

  • Reproductive health
  • Criminology
  • Perinatal epidemiology

Background:

  • Paternal factors can influence maternal well-being and pregnancy outcomes.
  • Previous research has not extensively explored the link between paternal criminal history and preterm birth risk.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between paternal violent criminality and the risk of preterm birth (birth before 37 weeks of gestation).

Main Methods:

  • A Swedish register-based study utilized data from the Medical Birth Register (1992-2012) and the National Crime Register (1973-2012).
  • Linked birth records with paternal violent crime convictions to assess exposure.
  • Employed maternal half-sibling comparisons to control for stable maternal characteristics.

Main Results:

  • Paternal violent criminality was significantly associated with an increased risk of preterm birth and lower gestational age.
  • The risk was particularly elevated for infants whose fathers had multiple violent crime convictions (reoffenders).
  • Maternal half-sibling analyses confirmed an increased risk of preterm birth and lower gestational age when fathers had persistent violent criminal histories.

Conclusions:

  • Persistent paternal violent criminality is a risk factor for preterm birth.
  • The findings highlight the importance of considering paternal background factors in perinatal health.
  • Controlling for stable maternal characteristics reinforces the independent association between paternal violent crime and adverse birth outcomes.
Abstract

Keywords:
FatherPreterm birthPsychosocial stressViolent crime

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