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. 2023 Jan 6:10:1052063.
doi: 10.3389/fped.2022.1052063. eCollection 2022.

Association between parental unhealthy behaviors and offspring's cardiovascular health status: Results from a cross-sectional analysis of parent-offspring pairs in China

Qi Ma  1 , Jieyu Liu  1 , Yu Wu  2 , Mengjie Cui  1 , Manman Chen  1 , Tao Ma  1 , Xinxin Wang  3 , Di Gao  1 , Yanhui Li  1 , Li Chen  1 , Ying Ma  1 , Yi Zhang  1 , Yanhui Dong  1 , Yi Xing  1 , Jun Ma  1
Affiliations

Association between parental unhealthy behaviors and offspring's cardiovascular health status: Results from a cross-sectional analysis of parent-offspring pairs in China

Qi Ma et al. Front Pediatr. .

Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular health (CVH) in children and adolescents, which might be largely influenced by parental behaviors, may affect the incidence of cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. However, few studies have been conducted to explore the associations between parental behaviors and CVH status of offspring in China.

Methods: Data were obtained from a cross-sectional survey conducted in Chinese children and adolescents aged 7-18 years old, with a total of 10,043 parent-offspring pairs included. Parental behaviors included moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), dietary behaviors, and weight status. The CVH status of offspring was consulted by The American Heart Association, including seven factors. The associations between parental behaviors and CVH status of offspring were evaluated by multilevel logistic regression. Stratified analyses were conducted to explore the potential modifying influence of sociodemographic factors.

Results: Most of the offspring had five ideal CVH factors; only 21.04% had six to seven ideal CVH factors. Parental unhealthy behaviors were associated with high odds of nonideal CVH status of offspring. Parental overweight/obesity, insufficient MVPA, and unhealthy dietary behaviors could increase the odds of owning one to three ideal CVH factors in offspring, with corresponding odds ratios (ORs) (95% confidence interval) of 1.61 (1.32-1.96), 1.31 (1.10-1.56), and 2.05 (1.43-2.94), respectively. There was a dose-response relationship between parental single unhealthy behavior and the odds of nonideal CVH status in offspring (P-trend < 0.001). Offspring with overweight parents had ORs of 1.25 for nonideal CVH status, compared to offspring with normal-weight parents. Among offspring who had the same number of ideal CVH factors, the cumulative association between unhealthy behaviors of parents and offspring's nonideal CVH status increased if parents had more unhealthy behaviors (P-trend < 0.001).

Conclusions: Parental overweight/obesity, insufficient MVPA, and unhealthy dietary behaviors were strongly associated with CVH status in offspring. With a cumulative association, more unhealthy parental behaviors were associated with higher odds of offspring's nonideal CVH status, suggesting that targeting parental behaviors might facilitate attainment of improving CVH status of children and adolescents.

Keywords: cardiovascular health; cross-sectional study; lifestyle; offspring; parents.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Selection process of the participants. CVH, cardiovascular health
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of participants in different CVH status according to parental behaviors: (A) parental BMI, (B) MVPA, and (C) number of healthy dietary factors. CVH, cardiovascular health; BMI, body mass index; MVPA, moderate to vigorous physical activity.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Association between different levels of single behavior of parents and offspring’s nonideal CVH status. Error bar was 95% CI. Multilevel logistic regression was used, and CVH status was defined as nonideal status or ideal CVH status. Data adjusted for provinces, resident area, family history of chronic diseases, family monthly income, offspring’s sex, age, birth weight, single-child status, breast feeding status, and parental highest education attainment. CVH, cardiovascular health; BMI, body mass index; MVPA, moderate to vigorous physical activity; OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Association between combined unhealthy behaviors of parents and offspring's different groups of nonideal CVH status: (A) 1-3 ideal CVH factors, (B) 4 ideal CVH factors, (C) 5 ideal CVH factors. Error bar was 95% CI. The combined behaviors of parents were examined as riable (vs. ideal CVH status). Data adjusted for provinces, resident area, family history of chronic diseases, family monthly incng's sex, age, birth weight, single-child status, breast feeding status, and parental highest education attainment. CVH, cardiovascular health.
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