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Parental mental illness, attendance at preventive child healthcare and dental caries in the offspring: a nation-wide population-based cohort study

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Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Severe mental illness (SMI) may interfere with parental caregiving practices and offspring development. Adhering to preventive well-child visits and maintaining good oral hygiene during early childhood requires parental involvement. Whether these activities are affected by parental SMI is unclear. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether children exposed to parental SMI are at increased risk of non-attendance to preventive well-child visits and vaccinations at age 0–5 years and of child dental caries experience at age 5 years. Furthermore, interactions between maternal psychiatric and sociodemographic variables in relation to an adverse child outcome were assessed.

Methods

Data were obtained from national Danish health registers. All children born in Denmark between January 1997 and December 2010 were followed from birth until their 6th birthday.

Results

679,339 children were included in the study (51% male). Of these, 49,059 children (7.8%) had at least one parent with a lifetime SMI diagnosis. Children of parents with SMI had elevated odds of missing well-child visits and vaccinations (OR 1.41; 95% CI 1.39–1.44, p < 0.0001), and of child dental caries (OR 1.58; 95% CI 1.55–1.62, p < 0.0001). In the presence of maternal SMI, low socioeconomic classification and single-mother status added more to the elevated risk than specific maternal diagnosis or timing of last psychiatric contact.

Conclusion

Parents with SMI are less compliant with preventive child healthcare activities than parents without SMI. This indicates a need for practical support to these families in order to prevent inequality in health among their offspring.

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Data availability

Data can be obtained from Danish national health registers with obtained permissions.

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Funding

The study was funded by the Mental Health Research Foundation in the Region of Southern Denmark.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense M, Denmark

    Kirstine A. Davidsen

  2. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Odense, Research Unit, Mental Health Services in the Region of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Kirstine A. Davidsen, Erik Christiansen, Jette Asmussen & Niels Bilenberg

  3. Section for Paediatric Dentistry, Department of Dentistry and Oral Health, Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Dorte Haubek

  4. Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Jette Asmussen & Niels Bilenberg

  5. Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Anne Ranning, Anne A. E. Thorup & Merete Nordentoft

  6. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, University of Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Anne A. E. Thorup

  7. Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Susanne Harder

Authors
  1. Kirstine A. Davidsen
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  2. Erik Christiansen
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  3. Dorte Haubek
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  4. Jette Asmussen
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  5. Anne Ranning
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  6. Anne A. E. Thorup
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  8. Susanne Harder
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  9. Niels Bilenberg
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the conception and design of the study, KAD and NB extracted data. EC conducted the statistical analysis and all authors contributed to the interpretation of data. KAD and EC drafted the first version of the manuscript, and all authors revised the manuscript critically for important content. All authors approved the final version and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work. KAD and AC had full access to all the data in the study and take full responsibility for the integrity of the data and accuracy of the data analysis. The corresponding author attests that all listed authors meet authorship criteria and that no others meeting the criteria have been omitted.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kirstine A. Davidsen.

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Conflict of interest

All authors have completed the Unified Competing Interest form (available on request from the corresponding author) and declare no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

Danish register based studies that do not comprise human biological material do not need to be approved by the ethical committee.

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Davidsen, K.A., Christiansen, E., Haubek, D. et al. Parental mental illness, attendance at preventive child healthcare and dental caries in the offspring: a nation-wide population-based cohort study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 56, 583–592 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01936-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01936-3

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