346 - Comparison of cardiovascular health between parents and non-parents in NHANES 2011 - 2018

Assess and compare patterns of cardiovascular risk, as measured by the American Heart Association’s recently published Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) score, for parents and non-parents. LE8 defines a total score and 8 sub-scores including 2 biometrics (blood pressure, BMI), 2 blood measurements (lipids, glucose), and 4 health behaviors (smoking, physical activity, diet, and sleep).

Design/Methods:

This cross-sectional cohort study used 2011 – 2018 NHANES data, including non-pregnant participants aged 20 – 54 years with available LE8 data. The exposure of interest was parenting, defined as living with a child in the household. We calculated the proportion of adults with ideal LE8 total and sub-scores. We used logistic regression to assess whether parenting was associated with odds of ideal LE8 total or sub-scores. Regression adjusted for age, sex, race and ethnicity, educational attainment, marital status, and income. Subgroup analyses assessed relationship between parenting and LE8 for those with female sex, male sex, household income < 200% FPL, and comparing non-parents versus parents of children < 5 years only. All analyses used NHANES examination weights to approximate the non-institutionalized population of the US that met other inclusion criteria.

Results:

6847 participants represented a weighted population of 79,120,285 (57% parents). Compared with non-parents, parents were more likely to be female, non-White, have lower educational attainment and income, and be married or living with a partner. 24% of parents and 29% of non-parents had ideal LE8 scores (Table 1). In adjusted regression, parenting was not associated with change in odds of ideal total LE8 (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.76 – 1.09). Parenting was associated with decreased odds of ideal BMI (OR 0.81, 95% CI 0.72 – 0.91) and increased odds of smoking avoidance (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.09 – 1.38). Associations varied by subgroup. The subgroup with lower incomes was the only group for which parenting was associated with reduced odds of ideal total LE8 (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.45 – 0.77).

Conclusion(s): Parents and non-parents differed in smoking and BMI risks, though not in LE8 total. Low proportions with ideal LE8 suggest potential benefits of dual generation approaches to cardiovascular risk reduction in pediatrics. Parents with lower incomes may face particular barriers to achieving ideal cardiovascular health.