Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jan;52(1):38-47.
doi: 10.1007/s10519-021-10091-7. Epub 2021 Nov 11.

A Nation-Wide Swedish Cohort Study on Early Maternal Age at First Childbirth and Risk for Offspring Deaths, Accidents, and Suicide Attempts

Ayesha C Sujan #  1 , Lauren M O'Reilly #  2 , Martin E Rickert  2 , Henrik Larsson  3   4 , Paul Lichtenstein  4 , A Sara Oberg  4   5 , Brian M D'Onofrio  2   4
Affiliations

A Nation-Wide Swedish Cohort Study on Early Maternal Age at First Childbirth and Risk for Offspring Deaths, Accidents, and Suicide Attempts

Ayesha C Sujan et al. Behav Genet. 2022 Jan.

Abstract

In a sample of over one million Swedish first-born offspring, we examined associations between early maternal age at first childbirth (MAFC; i.e., < 20 and 20-24 vs 25-29 years) and offspring non-accidental deaths, accidental deaths, deaths by suicide, non-fatal accidents, and suicide attempts. We included year of birth and several maternal and paternal characteristics as covariates and conducted maternal cousin comparisons to adjust for unmeasured confounding. Early MAFC (e.g., teenage childbearing) was associated with all outcomes, with the most pronounced risk elevation for accidental deaths [Hazard Ratio (HR) < 20 2.50, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.23, 2.80], suicides (HR < 20 2.08, 95% CI 1.79, 2.41), and suicide attempts (HR < 20 2.85, 95% CI 2.71, 3.00). Adjusting for covariates and comparing cousins greatly attenuated associations (e.g., accidental deaths HR < 20 1.61, 95% CI 1.22, 2.11; suicides HR < 20 1.01, 95% CI 0.69, 1.47; and suicide attempts HR < 20 1.35, 95% CI 1.19, 1.52). A similar pattern emerged for non-accidental deaths and non-fatal accidents. Therefore, results indicated maternal background factors may be largely responsible for observed associations.

Keywords: Accidents; Deaths; Maternal age at childbearing; Offspring outcomes; Suicides; Teenage childbearing.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Academy of Medical Sciences Working Group (2007) Identifying the environmental causes of disease: how should we decide what to believe and when to take action? Academy of Medical Sciences, London
    1. Allison PD (2009) Fixed effects regression models. Sage, Washington DC - DOI
    1. Anderson RN, Miniño AM, Hoyert DL, Rosenberg HM (2001) Comparability of cause of death between ICD–9 and ICD–10: preliminary estimates. Natl Vital Stat Rep 18(2):1–32
    1. Barclay K, Myrskyla M (2018) Parental age and offspring mortality: negative effects of reproductive ageing may be counterbalanced by secular increases in longevity. Popul Stud (camb) 72(2):157–173. https://doi.org/10.1080/00324728.2017.1411969 - DOI
    1. Bjørngaard JH, Bjerkeset O, Vatten L, Janszky I, Gunnell D, Romundstad P (2013) Maternal age at child birth, birth order, and suicide at a young age: a sibling comparison. Am J Epidemiol 177(7):638–644. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwt014 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources