title: Influence of maternal and paternal IQ on offspring health and health behaviours: evidence for some trans-generational associations using the 1958 British birth cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Individuals scoring poorly on tests of intelligence (IQ) have been reported as having increased risk of morbidity, premature mortality, and risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, poor diet, alcohol and cigarette consumption. Very little is known about the impact of parental IQ on the health and health behaviours of their offspring.
  
  
  METHODS
  We explored associations of maternal and paternal IQ scores with offspring television viewing, injuries, hospitalisations, long standing illness, height and BMI at ages 4 to 18 using data from the National Child Development Study (1958 birth cohort).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data were available for 1446 mother-offspring and 822 father-offspring pairs. After adjusting for potential confounding/mediating factors, the children of higher IQ parents were less likely to watch TV (odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for watching 3+ vs. less than 3hours per week associated with a standard deviation increase in maternal or paternal IQ: 0.75 (0.64, 0.88) or 0.78 (0.64, 0.95) respectively) and less likely to have one or more injuries requiring hospitalisation (0.77 (0.66, 0.90) or 0.72 (0.56, 0.91) respectively for maternal or paternal IQ).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children whose parents have low IQ scores may have poorer selected health and health behaviours. Health education might usefully be targeted at these families.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, 1-19, Torrington Place, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Whitley
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Gale
authors.forename: I J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Deary
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kivimaki
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh-Manoux
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Batty
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D006113:United Kingdom