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Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Parents of Children Diagnosed With Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Hui Wang1,2,3, Imre Janszky1,4, Jette Möller1
1Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Insights
Parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) face a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). This increased risk is associated with the number of affected children, highlighting the need for monitoring parental health.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cardiology
- Public Health
Background:
- Limited evidence exists on the link between having children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and parental cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.
- Understanding this association is crucial for identifying at-risk parents and implementing timely interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between having children diagnosed with common NDDs and the subsequent risk of CVD in parents.
- To quantify the increased CVD risk in parents based on the number of children with NDDs.
Main Methods:
- A Swedish national registry-based cohort study utilizing linked data from 1987 to 2014.
- Follow-up of parents from the birth of their first child until CVD diagnosis, death, or emigration, with data analyzed through 2023.
- Cox proportional hazards models were employed to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for parental CVD by offspring NDD status.
Main Results:
- Parents of children with NDDs exhibited an increased risk of any CVD compared to parents without affected children (Mothers: HR 1.27; Fathers: HR 1.20).
- CVD risk escalated with the number of children diagnosed with NDDs, with higher risks observed for mothers and fathers with multiple affected children.
- Consistent associations were found across different NDDs and common CVD types, with a tendency for higher risk if the child had comorbid conditions.
Conclusions:
- Having children with NDDs is associated with a significantly increased subsequent risk of CVD in parents.
- These findings suggest the need for enhanced healthcare and early cardiovascular risk monitoring for parents of children with NDDs.
- The study underscores the importance of considering parental health in the context of childhood neurodevelopmental disorders.
Importance:
Evidence regarding the association between having children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and parental cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is lacking.
Objective:
To investigate whether parents of children diagnosed with common NDDs have increased risk of CVD.
Design, Setting, And Participants:
This cohort study used linked national register data of parents in Sweden with at least 1 live singleton birth between January 1, 1987 and December 31, 2014. Parents were followed up from the birth of the first child until the first diagnosis of CVD, death, emigration from Sweden, or December 31, 2023, whichever came first. Data were analyzed from April 1 to September 30, 2025.
Exposure:
Offspring NDDs.
Main Outcomes And Measures:
Parental CVD was identified from Sweden's National Patient Register and the Cause of Death Register. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs for any and specific types of CVD among parents by offspring NDDs.
Results:
The study sample included 1 180 457 mothers (mean [SD] age, 49.3 [9.1] years) and 882 619 fathers (mean [SD] age, 51.2 [8.8] years). A total of 196 840 mothers (16.7%) and 168 582 fathers (19.1%) were diagnosed with any CVD during a median (IQR) follow-up of 16.7 (10.9-25.3) years and 16.6 (11.0-24.6) years, respectively. Compared with parents who did not have a child diagnosed with NDDs, parents of children with NDDs had an increased risk of any CVD (mothers: HR, 1.27 [95% CI, 1.25-1.29]; fathers: HR, 1.20 [95% CI, 1.18-1.22]). CVD risk in parents increased with the number of affected children. Among mothers, the HRs for CVD risk were 1.22 (95% CI, 1.20-1.24), 1.39 (95% CI, 1.35-1.44), and 1.66 (95% CI, 1.56-1.77) for 1, 2, or 3 or more children with NDDs, respectively. Among fathers, the corresponding HRs were 1.16 (95% CI, 1.14-1.18), 1.33 (95% CI, 1.28-1.37), and 1.50 (95% CI, 1.40-1.61), respectively. The associations were observed for all 3 NDDs and for the most common types of CVD. The risk tended to be higher if the affected child also had comorbid conditions. The results remained consistent in the sibling comparison analysis.
Conclusions And Relevance:
This Swedish registry-based cohort study found that having children with NDDs was associated with an increased subsequent risk of CVD in parents. If confirmed by future studies, these findings may support the need for enhanced care and early cardiovascular risk monitoring in affected parents.
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