Adult offspring's education and parental mortality: A nationwide cohort study of the mediating role of lifestyle-related diseases.
| Title: | Adult offspring's education and parental mortality: A nationwide cohort study of the mediating role of lifestyle-related diseases. |
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| Authors: | Sloth MMB; Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.; Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Copenhagen University Hospital - Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark.; Neble Larsen E; Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.; Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Copenhagen University Hospital - Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark.; Mathisen J; Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.; Nilsson CJ; Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.; Osler M; Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Copenhagen University Hospital - Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark.; Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.; Jørgensen TSH; Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.; Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Copenhagen University Hospital - Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark. |
| Source: | Scandinavian journal of public health [Scand J Public Health] 2025 May; Vol. 53 (3), pp. 258-267. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Mar 24. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Sage Publications Country of Publication: Sweden NLM ID: 100883503 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1651-1905 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14034948 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Scand J Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: : London, England : Sage Publications; Original Publication: Stockholm ; Boston : Scandinavian University Press, c1999- |
| MeSH Terms: | Mortality*/trends ; Adult Children*/statistics & numerical data ; Life Style* ; Educational Status* ; Parents*; Humans ; Female ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Cohort Studies ; Registries |
| Abstract: | Aim: The mechanisms behind the association between adult offspring's socioeconomic position and their parents' mortality are not well understood. This study investigates lifestyle-related diseases as a potential mediating pathway between adult offspring's education and parental mortality. Methods: This nationwide register-based cohort study consists of 963,742 older adults aged 65 years between 2000 and 2018. Lifestyle-related diseases were measured between 60 and 65 years and those with prior lifestyle-related diseases were excluded. Natural Effect Models were performed to assess potential mediation through lifestyle-related diseases of the association between offspring's education and parental mortality measured by additive hazard estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Between 60 and 65 years, 150,501 (15.6%) older adults were diagnosed with lifestyle-related diseases and 149,647 (15.5%) died during follow-up. Compared with having offspring with long education, short education was associated with 631 (95% CI: 555; 707) and 581 (95% CI: 525; 638) additional deaths per 100,000 person-years for women and men, respectively, of which 15.4% (95% CI: 9.0; 21.6) and 16.8% (95% CI: 14.6; 18.9) were mediated by lifestyle-related diseases. The corresponding numbers for medium education were 276 (95% CI: 205; 347) and 299 (95% CI: 255; 343) with 26.2% (95% CI: 12.0; 40.6) and 27.6% (95% CI: 25.1; 31.8) mediated by lifestyle-related diseases. Conclusions: Lifestyle-related diseases accounted for 15-28% of the association between offspring's education and parental mortality for both men and women. |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Jimmi Mathisen is currently an employee at Novo Nordisk A/S. His work on this manuscript was conducted as part of a former employment spell at the University of Copenhagen. Novo Nordisk A/S had no role in this study. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: intergenerational health; lifestyle-related diseases; mediation analysis; natural effect model; offspring’s socioeconomic position; social foreground |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20240325 Date Completed: 20250422 Latest Revision: 20250422 |
| Update Code: | 20260130 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/14034948241234711 |
| PMID: | 38523257 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
Journal Article