Table 4.
Crude and Adjusted Associations (β and 95% Confidence Intervals) Between Parental Age and Offspring Adaptive Behavior and Cognitive Functioning as Measured by VABS and MSEL Composite Scores
| N | Crude | Adjusteda | Coadjustedb | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VABS models | ||||
| Maternal age (10 years) | 313 | −1.29 (−4.7, 2.12) | −1.31 (−4.77, 2.14) | −3.60 (−8.20, 1.00) |
| Paternal age (10 years) | 313 | 0.63 (−2.05, 3.32) | 0.96 (−1.65, 3.57) | 2.26 (−1.22, 5.75) |
| Maternal age categories | ||||
| <30 | 48 | −1.42 (−5.88, 3.05) | −0.24 (−4.60, 4.11) | 0.53 (−4.08, 5.14) |
| 30–34 (referent) | 126 | 0.0 (referent) | 0.0 (referent) | 0.0 (referent) |
| ≥35 | 139 | −1.45 (−4.69, 1.80) | −0.64 (−3.81, 2.53) | −1.52 (−5.13, 2.09) |
| Paternal age categories | ||||
| <30 | 35 | −2.49 (−7.63, 2.65) | −2.04 (−7.03, 2.95) | −2.49 (−7.66, 2.68) |
| 30–34 (referent) | 100 | 0.0 (referent) | 0.0 (referent) | 0.0 (referent) |
| 35–39 | 104 | 2.47 (−1.20, 6.13) | 2.77 (−0.79, 6.33) | 3.17 (−0.58, 6.93) |
| ≥40 | 74 | −1.68 (−5.69, 2.33) | −1.09 (−4.95, 2.77) | −0.16 (−4.90, 4.58) |
| Combined effects | ||||
| Young parents | 21 | −1.62 (−7.61, 4.37) | −0.98 (−6.79, 4.84) | |
| Referent | 228 | 0.0 (referent) | 0.0 (referent) | |
| Old parents | 64 | −3.04 (−6.75, 0.68) | −2.60 (−6.17, 0.98) | |
| MSEL models | ||||
| Maternal age (10 years) | 375 | 6.12 (1.63, 10.6) | 4.87 (0.27, 9.46)* | −0.27 (−6.30, 5.77) |
| Paternal age (10 years) | 375 | 6.84 (3.17, 10.5) | 6.15 (2.53, 9.77)* | 5.51 (0.70, 10.3)* |
| Maternal age categories | ||||
| <30 | 56 | −7.33 (−13.2, −1.44) | −5.84 (−11.6, −0.06)* | −3.37 (−9.50, 2.76) |
| 30–34 (referent) | 152 | 0.0 (referent) | 0.0 (referent) | 0.0 (referent) |
| ≥35 | 167 | 2.08 (−2.14, 6.33) | 1.88 (−2.29, 6.05) | −0.49 (−5.11, 4.13) |
| Paternal age categories | ||||
| <30 | 43 | −7.81 (−14.5, −1.11) | −5.92 (−12.5, 0.71) | −5.20 (−12.1, 1.69) |
| 30–34 (referent) | 117 | 0.0 (referent) | 0.0 (referent) | 0.0 (referent) |
| 35–39 | 132 | 2.42 (−2.35, 7.19) | 2.02 (−2.66, 6.70) | 1.38 (−3.58, 6.34) |
| ≥40 | 83 | 4.23 (−1.16, 9.62) | 4.57 (−0.68, 9.82) | 3.21 (−3.07, 9.50) |
| Combined effects | ||||
| Young parents | 27 | −11.1 (−18.7, −3.54) | −9.62 (−17.1, −2.15)* | |
| Referent | 279 | 0.0 (referent) | 0.0 (referent) | |
| Old parents | 69 | 1.83 (−3.24, 6.89) | 1.75 (−3.20, 6.70) | |
Note. Ns shown represent total n in analysis for continuous models, or n in that category for categorical models. Definitions as follows: young parents: both parents < 30 years; old parents: maternal age ≥ 35 and paternal age ≥ 40; referent combined effects category: all other combinations of parental age.
Adjusted for child’s sex, parental education, and parental race/ethnicity (maternal education and race/ethnicity used in maternal age models; paternal education and race/ethnicity used in paternal age models).
Additionally adjusted for the other parent’s age. Combined effects models adjusted for maternal race and education, though estimates adjusting for paternal race and education instead were similar.
Statistical significance in adjusted model.