Abstract
IntroductionPrevious studies have shown that paternal absence leads to earlier pubertal timing among girls in high-income countries. Despite the low divorce rate in Japan, paternal separation is commonly seen due to a unique corporation system, tanshin funin, where employees relocate with their spouses and children. We examined paternal separation, including paternal absence (due to divorce or paternal death) and paternal tanshin funin, during early childhood as a predictor of earlier girl’s pubertal development, assessed as age at peak height velocity (PHV).MethodsThis study examined 15 214 girls from a longitudinal survey conducted in Japan from 2001 to 2016 by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Paternal separation was determined by the occurrence through annual surveys conducted at ages 0.5 to 4.5 years. Outcome was defined as age at PHV between ages 6 to 15 years. We conducted linear regression, adjusted for potential confounders and other covariates.ResultsContinuous father cohabitation was seen in 88.7% of households, while paternal separation was experienced 1-2, 3-4 and 5 times (always) among 7.4%, 2.8% and 1.1% of households, respectively. Girls who confronted continuous paternal separation (5 times) experienced 0.42 years earlier [95% confidence interval (CI): -0.75, -0.10] age at PHV compared to their peers who always lived with their fathers.ConclusionGirls who experienced paternal separation throughout ages 0.5 to 4.5 years experienced PHV earlier.
Highlights
Previous studies have shown that paternal absence leads to earlier pubertal timing among girls in high-income countries
We excluded participants with missing exposure variables (n=4 483) and participants whose height z-score was less than -5 standard deviation (SD) or larger than 3 SD based on World Health Organization (WHO) standards (n=2 893) [17]
When we looked at the onset of continuous paternal separation, our results showed that age at peak height velocity (PHV) comes earlier by 0.42 years when paternal separation was reported at the very first survey
Summary
Previous studies have shown that paternal absence leads to earlier pubertal timing among girls in high-income countries. Despite the low divorce rate in Japan, paternal separation is commonly seen due to a unique corporation system, tanshin funin, where employees relocate with their spouses and children. We examined paternal separation, including paternal absence (due to divorce or paternal death) and paternal tanshin funin, during early childhood as a predictor of earlier girl’s pubertal development, assessed as age at peak height velocity (PHV). Early pubertal timing in girls has an increased risk for psychological dysfunction (e.g., depression and anxiety) [2]. The physical absence of a father might still affect pubertal timing due to both the physical paternal absence and functional absence having an impact on the mother’s stress level, which in turn results in increased anxiety over the children [11]
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