Risk of childhood cancer and adult lung cancer after childhood exposure to passive smoke: A meta-analysis. (1/174)

We identified more than 30 studies on the association between exposure to maternal tobacco smoke during pregnancy and cancer in childhood. We combined their results in meta-analyses based on a random effects model. The results of the meta-analyses suggest a small increase in risk of all neoplasms [relative risk (RR) 1.10; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03-1.19; based on 12 studies], but not of specific neoplasms such as leukemia (RR 1.05; CI, 0.82-1.34; 8 studies) and central nervous system tumors (RR 1.04; CI, 0.92-1. 18; 12 studies). Results for other specific neoplasms were sparse, but the available data did not suggest a strong association for any type of tumor. No clear evidence of dose response was present in the studies that addressed this issue. The results on exposure to maternal tobacco smoke before or after pregnancy are too sparse to allow a conclusion. The results on exposure to paternal tobacco smoke suggest an association with brain tumors (RR 1.22; CI, 1.05-1. 40; based on 10 studies) and lymphomas (RR 2.08; CI, 1.08-3.98; 4 studies). The data are too sparse for the other neoplasms, although the results of a few recent large studies are compatible with a weak carcinogenic effect of paternal smoke. For exposure from either maternal or paternal smoke, bias and confounding cannot yet be ruled out. Further studies are needed to confirm the hypothesis that parental tobacco smoke, from the father in particular, is a risk factor of childhood cancer. Results on the risk of lung cancer in adulthood and childhood passive smoking exposure are available from 11 studies: they do not provide evidence of an increased risk (summary RR 0.91; CI, 0.80-1.05).  (+info)

Childhood predictors of adult medically unexplained hospitalisations. Results from a national birth cohort study. (2/174)

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that adults with medically unexplained physical symptoms experienced greater ill-health then others (either in themselves or their families) during childhood. AIMS: To test these hypotheses. METHOD: We used data from the Medical Research Council (MRC) National Survey of Health and Development, a population-based cohort study established in 1946 (n = 5362). Subjects were followed from birth in 1946 until 1989 (age 43 years). As outcome, we used operationally defined medically unexplained hospital admissions at age 15-43 years. Exposure variables included childhood illness, and illness in parents during the childhood of the subjects. RESULTS: The risk set (n = 4603) comprised individuals still in the Survey at age 15. Ninety-five unexplained hospital admissions were identified. Subjects whose mothers reported below-average health in the father were at increased risk of subsequent unexplained admissions. Below average reported health in the mother was not associated with this increased risk. Defined physical diseases in childhood were not associated, but persistent abdominal pain at age 7-15 years was. CONCLUSIONS: Unexplained hospital admissions are associated with certain childhood experiences of illness, but defined physical illness in childhood is not a risk factor.  (+info)

Brief report: fathering a child living with HIV/AIDS: psychosocial adjustment and parenting stress. (3/174)

OBJECTIVE: To examine the psychosocial stressors experienced by fathers of children diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. METHODS: Thirty-one fathers whose children (ages 6 to 19) were participating in pediatric HIV clinical trials completed self-report measures of parenting stress, psychological distress, and need for psychosocial services. RESULTS: Over half of this sample experienced significantly elevated levels of both parenting stress and psychological distress compared to standardized norms. Ninety-seven percent of these men reported the need for services including gender-specific support groups, assistance with discipline, disease management, and assistance with planning for the future. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated levels of parenting stress and psychological distress in fathers of children living with HIV suggest the need for additional psychological intervention in this population.  (+info)

Paternal alcoholism and toddler noncompliance. (4/174)

BACKGROUND: This study examined the effect of fathers' alcoholism and associated risk factors on toddler compliance with parental directives at 18 and 24 months of age. METHODS: Participants were 215 families with 12-month-old children, recruited through birth records, who completed assessments of parental substance use, family functioning, and parent-child interactions at 12, 18, and 24 months of child age. Of these families, 96 were in the control group, 89 families were in the father-alcoholic-only group, and 30 families were in the group with two alcohol-problem parents. Child compliance with parents during cleanup situations after free play was measured at 18 and 24 months. The focus of this paper is on four measures of compliance: committed compliance, passive noncompliance, overt resistance, and defiance. RESULTS: Sons of alcohol-problem parents exhibited higher rates of noncompliance compared with sons of nonalcoholic parents. Sons in the two-alcohol-problem parent group seemed to be following a trajectory toward increasing rates of noncompliance. Daughters in the two-alcohol-problem parent group followed an opposite pattern. Other risk factors associated with parental alcohol problems also predicted compliance, but in unexpected ways. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that early risk for behavioral undercontrol is present in the toddler period among sons of alcoholic fathers, but not among daughters.  (+info)

Mother-infant and father-infant attachment among alcoholic families. (5/174)

This study examined the association between fathers' alcoholism and other risk factors such as parental depression, family conflict, infant temperament, and parent-infant attachment. The quality of parent-infant interactions was hypothesized to be a proximal mediator of the associations among alcoholism and other risk factors and attachment. The participants were 223 families (104 nonalcoholic families and 119 alcoholic families) with 12-month-old infants recruited through birth records. Infants in families with two parents with alcohol problem had significantly higher rates of insecure attachment with both parents. Structural Equations Modeling indicated that the fathers' alcohol problem was associated with lower paternal sensitivity (higher negative affect, lower positive engagement, and lower sensitive responding) during father-infant play interactions, and this in tum was associated with higher risk for infant attachment insecurity with fathers. The association between the fathers' alcohol problem and infant attachment security with the mother was mediated by matemal depression, and matemal alcohol problems and family conflict were associated with maternal sensitivity during play interactions. These results indicate that the fathers' alcoholism is associated with higher family risk including the quality of the parent-infant relationship; infant attachment develops in a family context; and this context has a significant association with attachment security.  (+info)

"Come on, say something, dad!": communication and coping in fathers of diabetic adolescents. (6/174)

OBJECTIVE: To investigate fathers' coping and communication behavior in families with a healthy or a diabetic adolescent. METHOD: Fathers of diabetic adolescents and healthy adolescents (N = 134) were investigated longitudinally with respect to their non-illness-specific coping behavior, their perceptions of family climate, and communicative behavior in solving a joint family task. Data were obtained through questionnaires and content analysis of recordings of verbal communication activity. RESULTS: Based on questionnaire data, few differences were found between diabetic and healthy adolescents' fathers' styles of coping with non-illness-specific family problems over time. However, several significant differences emerged, both with respect to the fathers' perceptions of family climate and to aspects of family communication, as observed by independent raters. The findings revealed the overall low communicative activity and initiative of diabetic adolescents' fathers, despite the diabetic adolescents' frequent efforts to involve their fathers in solving a joint task. CONCLUSIONS: Counseling and related support services for families of chronically ill adolescents should endeavor to reinstate or increase the father's involvement in the family, thereby encouraging him to exercise his distinctive parental functions.  (+info)

Challenges to masculine transformation among urban low-income African American males. (7/174)

In this article we describe and analyze the challenges faced by an intervention program that addresses the fatherhood needs of low-income urban African American males. We used life history as the primary research strategy for a qualitative evaluation of a program we refer to as the Healthy Men in Healthy Families Program to better understand the circumstances and trajectory of men's lives, including how involvement in the program might have benefited them in the pursuit of their fatherhood goals. A model of masculine transformation, developed by Whitehead, was used to interpret changes in manhood/fatherhood attitudes and behaviors that might be associated with the intervention. We combined Whitehead's model with a social ecology framework to further interpret challenges at intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, and broader societal levels.  (+info)

Correlates of externalizing symptoms in children from families of alcoholics and controls. (8/174)

AIMS: This paper describes a new stage in the ongoing evaluation of the original families of sons of alcoholics and controls where we now focus on the relationships among relevant domains of functioning in their young sons and daughters. METHODS: The data were gathered from the 15-year follow-up of the families of the original probands (the fathers of these offspring) who had been selected from among students and non-academic staff at a university at approximately age 20. At the 15-year evaluation of these families, a structured interview and the Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL) questionnaire were administered to a parent, usually the mother, of 145 offspring age seven through 17. The eight domains evaluated here included the extended family histories of alcohol use disorders, parental alcoholism, independent mood or anxiety disorders in the grandparents and parents, the history of potential brain insults early in life, the absence of a biological parent in the home, and scores for internalizing symptoms, with externalizing symptoms as the dependent variable. RESULTS: Correlations among the domains were all in the predicted direction, a structural equation model revealed empirical results with an R(2) of 0.26, and there were high goodness of fit characteristics for hypothesized and empirical models. The results were similar for boys and girls and older versus younger offspring. CONCLUSIONS: An understanding of the relationships among characteristics in the offspring of the original probands offers the opportunity of establishing levels of functioning in relevant domains before the onset of alcohol-related problems or related disorders. The data presented here represent a baseline upon which future follow-ups will evaluate substance-related problems and disorders as this population matures.  (+info)