Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense M, Denmark.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Odense, Research Unit, Mental Health Services in the Region of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2021 Apr;56(4):583-592. doi: 10.1007/s00127-020-01936-3. Epub 2020 Aug 18.
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.
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.
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.
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.
严重精神疾病（SMI）可能会干扰父母的育儿实践和子女的发展。坚持进行预防保健检查和在幼儿期保持良好的口腔卫生需要父母的参与。这些活动是否受到父母 SMI 的影响尚不清楚。本研究的目的是确定暴露于父母 SMI 的儿童在 0-5 岁时是否更有可能不参加预防保健检查和疫苗接种，以及在 5 岁时是否更有可能出现儿童龋齿。此外，还评估了母亲精神疾病和社会人口统计学变量与不良儿童结局之间的相互作用。
数据来自丹麦国家健康登记处。所有 1997 年 1 月至 2010 年 12 月期间在丹麦出生的儿童从出生到 6 岁生日期间都被跟踪随访。
本研究共纳入 679339 名儿童（51%为男性）。其中，49059 名儿童（7.8%）的父母至少有一方患有终身 SMI 诊断。患有 SMI 的父母的孩子错过预防保健检查和疫苗接种的可能性更高（OR 1.41；95%CI 1.39-1.44，p<0.0001），且儿童龋齿的可能性更高（OR 1.58；95%CI 1.55-1.62，p<0.0001）。在母亲患有 SMI 的情况下，低社会经济分类和单身母亲身份比母亲特定诊断或最近一次精神科就诊时间更能增加风险。
患有 SMI 的父母比没有 SMI 的父母更不遵守预防儿童保健活动。这表明需要为这些家庭提供实际支持，以防止其子女在健康方面出现不平等。
