Parent problem drinking trajectory classes predict anxiety in adolescence and emerging adulthood

Risk of severe mood and anxiety disorders in the adult children of parents with alcohol use disorder: a nationwide cohort study

BACKGROUND

Growing up with parental alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a risk factor for psychiatric disorders. This study investigated the risk of mood disorders and of anxiety disorders in the adult children of parents with AUD, adjusted for sociodemographic factors.

METHODS

Individual-level register data on the total population were linked to follow children of parents with AUD from 1973 to 2018 to assess their risk of mood disorders and of anxiety disorders. AUD, mood disorders and anxiety disorders were defined with International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems codes from the National Patient Register. HRs of outcomes were calculated with Cox regression. Model 1 was adjusted for the child's sex, parental education and death of a parent. Model 2 was adjusted for those factors and parental diagnosis of mood or anxiety disorder.

RESULTS

Those with ≥1 parent with AUD (99 723 of 2 421 479 children) had a higher risk of mood disorder and of anxiety disorder than those whose parents did not have AUD (HR mood 2.32, 95% CI 2.26 to 2.39; HR anxiety 2.66, 95% CI 2.60 to 2.72). The risk remained elevated after adjustment for sociodemographic factors and parental psychiatric diagnosis (HR mood 1.67, 95% CI 1.63 to 1.72; HR anxiety 1.74, 95% CI 1.69 to 1.78). The highest risks were associated with AUD in both parents, followed by AUD in mothers and then in fathers.

CONCLUSION

Adult children of parents with AUD have a raised risk of mood and anxiety disorders even after adjustment for sociodemographic factors and parental mood or anxiety disorder. These population-level findings can inform future policies and interventions.

Parents' drinking, childhood hangover? Parental alcohol use, subjective health complaints and perceived stress among Swedish adolescents aged 10-18 years

BACKGROUND

Alcohol abuse is not only harmful to the consumer but may also negatively impact individuals in the drinker's social environment. Alcohol's harm to others is vital to consider when calculating the true societal cost of alcohol use. Children of parents who have alcohol use disorder tend to have an elevated risk of negative outcomes regarding, e.g., health, education, and social relationships. Research on the general youth population has established a link between parental drinking and offspring alcohol use. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding other outcomes, such as health. The current study aimed to investigate the associations between parental drinking and children's psychological and somatic complaints, and perceived stress.

METHODS

Data were derived from a nationally representative sample, obtained from the 2010 Swedish Level-of-Living survey (LNU). Parents and adolescents (ages 10-18) living in the same households were interviewed independently. The final study sample included 909 adolescents from 629 households. The three outcomes, psychological and somatic complaints and perceived stress, were derived from adolescents' self-reports. Parents' self-reports of alcohol use, both frequency and quantity, were used to categorise adolescents as having abstaining, low-consuming, moderate-drinking, or heavy-drinking parents. Control variables included adolescents' gender, age, family structure, and household socioeconomic status. Linear and binary logistic regression analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Parental heavy drinking was more common among adolescents living in more socioeconomically advantaged households and among adolescents living with two custodial parents or in reconstituted families. Adolescents with heavy-drinking parents reported higher levels of psychological and somatic complaints and had an increased likelihood of reporting stress, compared with those having moderate-drinking parents. These associations remained statistically significant when adjusting for all control variables.

CONCLUSION

The current study's results show that parental alcohol consumption is associated with poorer offspring adolescent health. Public health policies that aim to reduce parental drinking or provide support to these adolescents may be beneficial. Further studies investigating the health-related outcomes among young people living with heavy-drinking parents in the general population are needed to gain more knowledge about these individuals and to implement adequate public health measures.