In a recent study published in AJPM Focus , researchers evaluated associations between fatherhood and cardiovascular health (CVH), disease (CVD), and mortality. Study: Fatherhood and Cardiovascular Health, Disease and Mortality: Associations from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis . Image Credit: Halfpoint/Shutterstock.
com CVD is the leading cause of death among males. In 2021, males in the United States (US) had a six-year shorter life expectancy than females. This discrepancy was highly significant among ethnic and racial minorities.
CVH declines from late adolescence in males through their 30s, when most become fathers. Further, fatherhood transition is associated with negative and positive changes in CVH. Fatherhood has been linked to higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) rates among Chinese males, while the opposite is observed in White individuals, indicating racial and cultural disparities.
Additionally, evidence suggests that fatherhood is associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality. However, previous studies on fatherhood, CVD, cardiovascular health (CVH), and mortality have not thoroughly evaluated CVH or included diverse ethnic and racial populations. In the present study, researchers evaluated associations between fatherhood and CVD, CVH, and mortality across a racially and ethnically diverse sample.
They used data from the multiethnic study of atherosclerosis, which comprised non-CVD individuals aged 45–84. Black, Hispanic, White, and Chinese indiv.
