The Association Between Long Working Hours of Parents and Dyslipidemia in Their Children

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Pediatric Health
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Childhood dyslipidemia is a growing concern with long-term cardiovascular implications.
• Parental work hours are a significant societal factor potentially influencing family health behaviors and outcomes.
• Understanding the link between parental employment and pediatric lipid profiles is crucial for public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between parents' working hours and children's low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels.
• To determine if maternal or paternal long working hours impact pediatric dyslipidemia.
• To identify specific demographic groups, such as elementary school students, that may be more vulnerable.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the 2010-2018 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
• Included lipid profiles from 3,799 children.
• Employed logistic regression analyses, adjusting for covariates like age, sex, income, and education, with dichotomous LDL-C as the outcome and parental working hours as the exposure.

Main Results:

• Mothers working >52 hours/week showed a significant association with children's dyslipidemia (OR 2.14, 95% CI 1.33-3.47) compared to those working ≤40 hours.
• Fathers' working hours did not demonstrate a statistically significant association with children's dyslipidemia (OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.71-1.66).
• The association between mothers' long working hours and pediatric dyslipidemia was strongest in elementary school students (OR 3.42, 95% CI 1.64-7.14).

Conclusions:

• Maternal long working hours (>52 hours/week) are significantly associated with an increased prevalence of dyslipidemia in children.
• Elementary school-aged children appear most affected by their mothers' extended work schedules.
• Recommendations for appropriate parental working hours are necessary to promote children's cardiovascular health.