Citation

Rattay P, von der Lippe E. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020; 17(9): e3180.

Affiliation

Department of Epidemiology and Health Monitoring, Robert Koch Institute, 12101 Berlin, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph17093180

PMID

32370290

Abstract

Does the health of women and men living with and without minor children differ, and are age differences evident in the association? For self-rated general health, depression, back pain, overweight, smoking and sporting inactivity, the GEDA data 2009-2012 (18-54 years, n = 39,096) were used to calculate prevalence for women and men stratified by parental status (living with children: yes/no) and age. Moreover, we calculated odds ratios and predictive margins, performing logistic regressions with interaction terms of parental status and age. Women and men aged 45-54 living with children are healthier than those not living with children. Parents aged 18-24 smoke more frequently and do less sport; young mothers are also more likely to be overweight and suffer from back pain than women not living with children. In multivariable analysis, the interaction of living with children and age is significant for all outcomes (except depression and back pain in men). Living with children is an important social determinant of health, highly dependent on age. It is to be discussed whether the bio-psycho-social situation has an influence on becoming a parent, or whether parenthood in different phases of life strains or enhances health.

Language: en

Keywords

Germany; family; father; health behavior; living with children; mental health; mother; parenthood; self-rated health