title: Parenthood and host resistance to the common cold.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether parenthood predicts host resistance to the common cold among healthy volunteers experimentally exposed to a common cold virus.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 795 healthy volunteers (age range = 18-55 years) enrolled in one of three viral-challenge studies conducted from 1993 to 2004. After reporting parenthood status, participants were quarantined, administered nasal drops containing one of four common cold viruses, and monitored for the development of a clinical cold (infection in the presence of objective signs of illness) on the day before and for 5 to 6 days after exposure. All analyses included controls for immunity to the experimental virus (prechallenge specific antibody titers), viral strain, season, age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, body mass, study, employment status, and education.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Parents were less likely to develop colds than nonparents were (odds ratio [OR] = 0.48, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.31-0.73). This was true for both parents with one to two children (OR = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.33-0.83) and three or more children (OR = 0.39, 95% CI = 0.22-0.70). Parenthood was associated with a decreased risk of colds for both those with at least one child living at home (OR = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.24-0.87) and those whose children all lived away from home (OR = 0.27, 95% CI = 0.12-0.60). The relationship between parenthood and colds was not observed in parents aged 18 to 24 years but was pronounced among older parents.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parenthood was associated with greater host resistance to common cold viruses.
authors: Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. rsneed@andrew.cmu.edu
authors: Rodlescia S
authors: RS
authors: Sneed
authors: Sheldon
authors: S
authors: Cohen
authors: Ronald B
authors: RB
authors: Turner
authors: William J
authors: WJ
authors: Doyle
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D003139:Common Cold / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000635:transmission; D060467:Disease Resistance / Q000276:immunology*; D004198:Disease Susceptibility / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000276:immunology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009093:Mucus / Q000378:metabolism; D010290:Parents; D012229:Rhinovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral