Table 3.
Summary of findings from studies examining metabolic and cardiovascular diagnoses and events.
| Study | Design | Sample description | Type of separation | Type of outcomes & Age(s) at outcome | Covariates | Findings (main effects, moderation by sex, age at and duration of separation) | Effect size(s) for main effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||||
| Ahrens et al., 2014 | Prospective | Sub-sample from the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth (n= 596), and a non-exposed, economically-secure group matched for age (n=1461) drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (AddHealth) | Foster care; self-port and record | Diabetes; Self-report Age range: 25–26 | Sex Race, ethnicity Age at adult assessment Attained education level in adulthood Economic insecurity at adult assessment Past or current pregnancy | No difference in reports of diabetes between foster care group and economically-secure control group. Moderation by sex: none. | NA |
| Alastalo et al., 2009 | Prospective | Simple random sample of the Helsinki Birth Cohort: Separated group (n=320), non-separated group (n=1683) | War evacuation; self-report and record | Cardiovascular disease Type 2 diabetes Chronic diseases (via meds); self-report use of medication and physician diagnoses Mean age: 62 | Sex Father’s occupation status in childhood Age at adult assessment Attained education level in adulthood | War evacuees displayed higher risk for any cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabestes. Moderation by sex: not significant. Effects of age at evacuation: not significant. Effects of duration of evacuation: Positive relations between longer period of evacuation and greater cardiovascular disease risks. | ORs= 1.5 (CI= 1.0 to 2.0) to 1.7 (CI=1.1, 2.4) |
| Alastalo et al., 2012 | Prospective | The Helsinki Birth Cohort: separated group (n=1726), non-separated group (n=11189) | War evacuation; record | Medication for CHD Hospital admission or death for coronary event or stroke Cardiovascular mortality; record Mean age: 64 | Analyses were stratified by year of birth and by sex Adjusted for father’s occupation status in childhood | War evacuation associated with greater use of medication for CHD, though no association with the other outcomes. Effects of age at evacuation: Early childhood period (ages 4–7) associated with greater risk for CHD medication only. Effects of duration of separation: Risk for CHD was higher if subjects were separated 1–3 years compared to non-separated. Effect not seen for those separated for <1 or >3 years. | HRs= .94 (CI= .72, 1.21) to 1.29 (CI= 1.04, 1.59) |
| Xie et al., 2021 | Prospective | Data from the National Child Development Study in the UK: Separated group (n=420), non-separated group (n=10740) | Out of home care; parent-report | Diabetes; self-report Mean age: 42 | Sex Childhood SES Health conditions | No differences in self-report daibetes in bivariate and adjusted analyses. | OR= .50 (CI= .10, 1.5) |
Note. CHD= Coronary heart disease. ORs= odds ratios. HRs= hazard ratios. CI= confidence interval. NA= not available because the effect sizes and/or information that could be used to calculate effect sizes are not available in the article.