title: Children of chronically ill parents: Relationship between parental multiple sclerosis and childhood developmental health.
abstract: Exposure to parental chronic illness is associated with adverse developmental outcomes.
  
  
  
  We examined the association between parental multiple sclerosis (MS) and parental MS-related clinical factors on developmental health.
  
  
  
  We conducted a population-based cohort study in British Columbia, Canada, using linked health databases. The outcome was childhood development at 5 years of age, expressed as vulnerability on the Early Development Instrument (EDI). Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using conditional logistic regression.
  
  
  
  MS-affected parents (n = 783) were older, more likely to be English speakers, and had higher rates of mental health morbidity (39.6% vs 22.2%, p < 0.001) than unaffected parents (n = 2988). In the adjusted models, children of mothers with MS (aOR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.44-0.87), but not children of the fathers with MS, had a lower risk of vulnerability on the social development domain of the EDI. However, mental health comorbidity (aOR = 1.62, 95% CI = 1.05-2.50) and physical comorbidity (aOR = 1.67, 95% CI = 1.05-2.64) among mothers with MS were associated with increased vulnerability on the EDI.
  
  
  
  Maternal MS, but not paternal MS, was associated with lower rates of developmental vulnerability on the social development domain. However, mental and physical comorbidity among MS-affected mothers were associated with increased developmental vulnerability in children.
authors.affiliation: School of Population and Public Health and Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Neda
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Razaz
authors.affiliation: School of Population and Public Health and Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Joseph
authors.affiliation: Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: W Thomas
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Boyce
authors.affiliation: School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guhn
authors.affiliation: School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Forer
authors.affiliation: Centre for Brain Health, Division of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia/Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Carruthers
authors.affiliation: Departments of Internal Medicine and Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
authors.forename: Ruth Ann
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Marrie
authors.affiliation: Centre for Brain Health, Division of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia/Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada helen.tremlett@ubc.ca.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tremlett
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders; D001955:British Columbia; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder; D005220:Fathers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders; D009035:Mothers; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012922:Social Change; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Multiple sclerosis; anxiety; child development; cohort studies; depression