Publication type
Journal Article
Authors
Publication date
October 14, 2015
Summary:
Background: This study investigated associations between work-family life courses and biomarkers of inflammation and stress in mid-life among British men and women. Gender differences in these associations were also explored.Methods: A novel statistical method—multi-channel sequence analysis—defined work-family life courses between the ages of 16 and 42 years, combining annual information on work, partnership and parenthood. Associations between work-family life courses and inflammation [C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen and von Willebrand factor] and cortisol at age 44/45 years were tested using multivariate linear regression using multiply-imputed data on almost 6500 participants from the National Child Development Study 1958 British birth cohort.Results: Compared with those who combined strong ties to paid work with later transitions to stable family lives (‘Work, later family’ group), ‘Teen parents’ had higher CRP [40.6% higher, 95% confidence interval (CI): 5.6, 87.0] and fibrinogen (7.8% higher, 95% CI: 2.3, 13.5) levels, and homemakers (‘No paid work, early family’) had raised fibrinogen levels (4.7% higher, 95% CI: 0.7, 9.0), independent of childhood health and socioeconomic position, adult socioeconomic position, health behaviours and body mass index (BMI). Those who combined later transitions to stable family ties with a career break for childrearing had higher post-waking cortisol than the ‘Work, later family’ group; however, no associations were seen for other work-family types, therefore suggesting a null finding with cortisol. No statistically significant gender interactions in associations between work-family types and inflammatory or cortisol outcomes were found.Conclusions: Work-family life courses characterised by early parenthood or weak work ties were associated with a raised risk profile in relation to chronic inflammation.
Published in
International Journal of Epidemiology
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyv205
ISSN
3005771
Subjects
Link
http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/10/14/ije.dyv205.full
Notes
© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association
Online Early
Open Access
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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