Empirical Article
Father Absence in Pregnancy or During Childhood and Pubertal Development in Girls and Boys: A Population-Based Cohort Study
Anne Gaml-Sørensen,
Nis Brix, Andreas Ernst, Lea Lykke Harrits Lunddorf, Cecilia Høst Ramlau-Hansen,
Corresponding Author
Anne Gaml-Sørensen
Aarhus University
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Anne Gaml-Sørensen, Department of Public Health, Research Unit for Epidemiology, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 2, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. Electronic mail may be sent to [email protected].
Search for more papers by this authorAnne Gaml-Sørensen,
Nis Brix, Andreas Ernst, Lea Lykke Harrits Lunddorf, Cecilia Høst Ramlau-Hansen,
Corresponding Author
Anne Gaml-Sørensen
Aarhus University
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Anne Gaml-Sørensen, Department of Public Health, Research Unit for Epidemiology, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 2, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. Electronic mail may be sent to [email protected].
Search for more papers by this authorThis work was supported by the Danish Council for Independent Research (DFF 4183-00152 to Cecilia Høst Ramlau-Hansen), the Independent Research Fund Denmark (FSS 0602-02738B), and the Faculty of Health at Aarhus University (AU R9-A959-13-S804). The funding sources had no involvement in the preparation, analysis, and interpretation of the data or submission of this report. Anne Gaml-Sørensen wrote the first draft of the manuscript and received no honorarium, grant, or other form of payment to produce the manuscript. The Danish National Birth Cohort was established with a significant grant from the Danish National Research Foundation. Additional support was obtained from the Danish Regional Committees, the Pharmacy Foundation, the Egmont Foundation, the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, the Health Foundation and other minor grants. The DNBC Biobank has been supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the Lundbeck Foundation. Follow-up of mothers and children have been supported by the Danish Medical Research Council (SSVF 0646, 271-08-0839/06-066023, O602-01042B, 0602-02738B), the Lundbeck Foundation (195/04, R100-A9193), The Innovation Fund Denmark 0603-00294B (09-067124), the Nordea Foundation (02-2013-2014), Aarhus Ideas (AU R9-A959-13-S804), University of Copenhagen Strategic Grant (IFSV 2012), and the Danish Council for Independent Research (DFF 4183-00594 and DFF 4183-00152).
Disclosure of interest: All authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Authors’ contributions: AG planned the study in close collaboration with NB, AE, LLHL, and CHR-H. CHR-H planned and obtained funding for the data collection for the Puberty Cohort. AG, NB, and AE performed the data management; AG performed the statistical analyses with guidance from NB and LLHL. AG, NB, AE, LLHL, and CHR-H supported the discussion and interpretation of findings. AG wrote the first draft, and NB, AE, LLHL, and CHR-H provided constructive comments on the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Abstract
This cohort study, including 15,810 children born 2000–2003 in Denmark, aimed to investigate the association between father absence in pregnancy or during childhood and pubertal development in girls and boys. The children were followed from 11 years of age and throughout pubertal development. Mean age differences according to exposure groups were estimated for each pubertal marker separately and for a combined pubertal marker. The results suggested that father absence in pregnancy and during childhood was associated with earlier pubertal development in girls, and father absence from late childhood was associated with earlier pubertal development in boys. The paternal investment theory, the psychosocial acceleration theory and the energetics theory were explored, and did not seem to explain the observed associations.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
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| cdev13488-sup-0001-Supinfo.docxWord document, 64.3 KB |
Figure S1. Flow Diagram on the Inclusion to the Puberty Cohort Table S1. Baseline Characteristics, Father Absence in Pregnancy Table S2. Main Results for Father Absence During Childhood Table S3. Main Results for Father Absence in Pregnancy Table S4. Sub Analyses for Father Absence During Childhood Table S5. Sub Analyses for Father Absence in Pregnancy |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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