Table 1. Descriptive characteristics of parents born from 1800 to 1996 who lost a child by death during their life course, and their siblings who did not lose a child, N (%).
| Parents with loss | Parents without loss | P for difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total number | 47 711 | 126 342 | - |
| Sex | |||
| Female | 25 125 (53) | 63 328 (50) | 3.65e-21 |
| Male | 22 586 (47) | 63 014 (50) | |
| Total number of children | 276 819 | 531 736 | - |
| Number of children, mean (SD) | 5.80 (3.19) | 4.21 (2.71) | 0 |
| Number of children | |||
| 1 | 1775 (4) | 16 012 (13) | 0 |
| 2–4 | 17 766 (37) | 64 908 (51) | |
| 5–9 | 21 947 (46) | 39 019 (31) | |
| 10+ | 6223 (13) | 6403 (5) | |
| Age at first child birth, mean (SD) | 25.55 (5.09) | 27.16 (6.11) | 0 |
| Age at matching*, mean (SD) | 38.76 (15.39) | 37.35 (14.60) | 8.84e-67 |
| Age at matching* | |||
| 13–30 | 17 963 (38) | 52 434 (42) | 1.84e-70 |
| 31–50 | 19 980 (42) | 51 348 (41) | |
| 51–75 | 8123 (17) | 19 480 (15) | |
| 76+ | 1645 (3) | 3080 (2) | |
| Age of deceased child, mean (SD) | 9.44 (14.95) | - | - |
| Length of follow-up, mean (SD) | 31.79 (18.36) | 25.45 (18.03) | 0 |
| Age at death | 70.81 (16.66) | 71.80 (16.20) | 1.40e-21 |
* Age at loss of first child for parents who lost a child; the same age for their siblings who did not lose a child or the age when the siblings became parents, whichever came later.