Maternal Health Matters: Exploring the Links Between Parental Health and Illness Factors and Adolescent Functional...

Functional somatic symptoms, which are physical symptoms that cannot be fully explained by any underlying medical condition, run in families. Besides genetic predispositions, parental model behaviors may contribute to the intergenerational transmission of proneness to somatic symptoms. However, studies examining the long-term influences of parental health and illness factors on somatic symptoms in offspring are scarce.

Using data from the Lifelines Cohort Study, cross-sectional associations were investigated between parental somatic symptoms, (chronic) medical conditions, health care utilization, medication use, and health literacy-assessed through a questionnaire and professional involvement in health care-and somatic symptoms reported by their adolescent offspring (13-17 years old) using the Somatic Complaints subscale of the Youth Self-Report. Long-term associations were then examined with the same predictors and symptom reports at follow-up in early adulthood. The study included 3,735 mother-adolescent dyads and a subsample of 2,668 mother-father-adolescent triads containing maternal and paternal information. Negative binomial regression analysis was used to examine associations between parental health factors and offspring symptoms.

Maternal (chronic) medical conditions and pain medication use were significantly associated with symptom reports of adolescents, particularly girls, in both mother-father-adolescent triads and mother-adolescent dyads. Additionally, in the dyads, mothers' somatic symptoms predicted somatic symptoms in adolescents, especially daughters. Only maternal somatic symptom reports were significantly associated with somatic symptoms of young adult daughters 3 to 4 years later. No significant associations were found for parental health care utilization, health literacy, or fathers' health and illness factors after multiple comparison correction.

This study examined various parental somatic health indicators, emphasizing the significant role of maternal health in somatic symptom burden of adolescent children. This influence diminishes as adolescents transition into adulthood. These findings highlight the importance of prioritizing maternal health in clinical interventions to reduce somatic symptoms in adolescents. By focusing on early identification and empowering mothers with health education, health care providers can promote healthier behaviors and potentially reduce the intergenerational transmission of somatic symptom tendencies.

Parental factors associated with the persistence of somatic symptoms from adolescence into adulthood; https://osf.io/5htsb/overview.