Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Center for Clinical Sciences, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Non-communicable Disease Control and Nutrition, Pasteur Institute in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa, Vietnam.
PLoS One. 2023 Mar 9;18(3):e0282731. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282731. eCollection 2023.
This study aimed to determine the association between parental absence during childhood and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adulthood among middle-aged adults in rural Khanh Hoa province, Vietnam. Given that broader literature on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) suggests a strong positive association between ACEs and cardiometabolic risk or diseases, we hypothesized that parental absence during childhood, which is a major component of ACEs, is more likely to cause MetS in adulthood.
Data were obtained from the baseline survey of the Khanh Hoa Cardiovascular Study, in which 3000 residents aged between 40 to 60 years participated. MetS was assessed using the modified Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) criteria. It was considered parental absence if the participants had experienced parental absence due to death, divorce, or out-migration before three or between three to 15 years. We used multiple logistic regression analyses to examine the association between parental absence during childhood and metabolic syndrome during adulthood.
There was no significant association between parental absence and MetS; adjusted odds ratio [AOR] was 0.97 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.76-1.22) for those who experienced parental absence between three to 15 years and the corresponding figure for those who experienced it before three years was 0.93 (95% CI = 0.72-1.20). No significant associations were observed when these were examined for the causes of parental absence.
This study did not support our hypothesis of an association between parental absence during childhood and metabolic syndrome during adulthood. Parental absence may not be a predictor of MetS among Vietnamese people in rural communities.
本研究旨在确定越南庆和省农村地区中年人群中儿童期父母缺失与成年期代谢综合征（MetS）之间的关系。鉴于更广泛的关于不良童年经历（ACEs）的文献表明，ACEs 与心血管代谢风险或疾病之间存在强烈的正相关，我们假设儿童期父母缺失（ACEs 的主要组成部分）更有可能导致成年期 MetS。
数据来自庆和心血管研究的基线调查，该研究有 3000 名年龄在 40 至 60 岁之间的居民参与。采用改良成人治疗小组 III（ATP III）标准评估 MetS。如果参与者因死亡、离婚或外出移民而在三岁之前或三岁至十五岁之间经历过父母缺失，则认为存在父母缺失。我们使用多因素逻辑回归分析来检验儿童期父母缺失与成年期代谢综合征之间的关系。
儿童期父母缺失与 MetS 之间无显著关联；调整后的优势比（AOR）为 0.97（95%置信区间[CI]为 0.76-1.22），对于在三岁至十五岁之间经历父母缺失的人群，对于在三岁之前经历父母缺失的人群，相应的 AOR 为 0.93（95% CI = 0.72-1.20）。当按父母缺失的原因进行检查时，未观察到显著的关联。
本研究不支持儿童期父母缺失与成年期 MetS 之间存在关联的假设。在农村社区的越南人群中，父母缺失可能不是 MetS 的预测因素。
