Abstract
A parental cancer diagnosis is psychologically straining for the whole family. We investigated whether a parental cancer diagnosis is associated with a higher-than-expected risk of injury among children by using a Swedish nationwide register-based cohort study. Compared to children without parental cancer, children with parental cancer had a higher rate of hospital contact for injury during the first year after parental cancer diagnosis (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.27, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.22-1.33), especially when the parent had a comorbid psychiatric disorder after cancer diagnosis (HR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.08-1.85). The rate increment declined during the second and third year after parental cancer diagnosis (HR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.07-1.14) and became null afterwards (HR = 1.01, 95% CI = 0.99-1.03). Children with parental cancer also had a higher rate of repeated injuries than the other children (HR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.12-1.15). Given the high rate of injury among children in the general population, our findings may have important public health implications.
Highlights
Cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among the affected patients, it is increasingly recognized as a contributor to ill-health in their significant others (Sjovall et al, 2009; Visser et al, 2004; Kazak et al, 2005; Krauel et al, 2012)
17% of hospital contacts among the exposed children occurred during the first year after cancer diagnosis, corresponding to an incidence rate of 60 per 1000 personyears and a HR of 1.27
Additional analyses with 14-day and 30-day washout periods showed similar results (14-day HR, 1.12 [95% CI 1.10–1.13]; 30-day HR, 1.10 [95% CI 1.08–1.12]). In this nationwide register-based study, we found that children having a parent with cancer had a higher rate of hospital contact for injury compared with other children
Summary
Cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among the affected patients, it is increasingly recognized as a contributor to ill-health in their significant others (Sjovall et al, 2009; Visser et al, 2004; Kazak et al, 2005; Krauel et al, 2012). A diagnosis of cancer in parents has repeatedly been shown to exert psychological and social stress in their children (Visser et al, 2004). Coping with cancer may affect the parenting of both the ill and well parents, further impacting the behavioral and social adaptability of the children (Faulkner and Davey, 2002). We reported that children of parents with cancer had a higher risk of death, both due to cancer and other causes (Chen et al, 2015)
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