Fatherhood history and later life health and mortality in England and Wales: A record linkage study

Abstract

Abstract Fatherhood is an important domain of the lives of most men but, in contrast to extensive research into associations between marriage and health, possible effects of paternity on later life health and mortality have attracted relatively little attention. Of those studies that have been undertaken, many relate to historical or less developed country populations with high levels of fertility and much less is known about associations in contemporary developed societies. In this paper we use data from a large nationally representative record linkage study of men in England and Wales to analyse associations between aspects of paternity history and subsequent mortality and health in a sample of 20,260 mature men in long‐term first marriages. At entry to the study in 1981 sample members had a mean age of 63 and a mean duration of marriage of 38 years. Mortality was observed for a twenty three year period (1981–2004) and indicators of health status measured ten (in 1991) and twenty years (in 2001) after e...