Health outcomes of only children across the life course: An investigation using Swedish register data.
Popul Stud (Camb)
; 77(1): 71-90, 2023 03.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35102810
ABSTRACT
Only children (with no full biological siblings) are a growing subgroup in many high-income settings. Previous studies have largely focused on the short-term developmental outcomes of only children, but there is limited evidence on their health outcomes. Using Swedish population register data for cohorts born 1940-75, we compare the health of only children with that of children from multi-child sibling groups, taking into account birth order, family size, and presence of half-siblings. Only children showed lower height and fitness scores, were more likely to be overweight/obese in late adolescence, and experienced higher later-life mortality than those with one or two siblings. However, only children without half-siblings were consistently healthier than those with half-siblings, suggesting that parental disruption confers additional disadvantages. The health disadvantage was attenuated but not fully explained by adjustment for parental characteristics and after using within-family maternal cousin comparison designs.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Filho Único
/
Ordem de Nascimento
Limite:
Adolescent
/
Humans
País como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article