Trends in social inequality in breastfeeding duration in Denmark 2002-2019.

AIMS: The aim of the present study was to analyse trends in full breastfeeding for at least 4 months across socioeconomic position in Denmark over a 17-year-long period from 2002 to 2019 using parental education as the indicator of socioeconomic position. METHODS: The study used data on full breastfeeding collected between 2002 and 2019 by community health nurses in the collaboration Child Health Database, n=143,075. Data were linked with five categories of parental education from population registers. Social inequality was calculated as both the relative (odds ratio) and absolute social inequality (slope index of inequality). A trend test was conducted to assess changes in social inequality over time. RESULTS: A social gradient in full breastfeeding was found for the entire study period. The odds ratio for not being fully breastfed for at least 4 months ranged from 3.30 (95% confidence interval 2.83-3.84) to 5.09 (95% confidence interval 4.28-6.06) during the study period for infants of parents with the lowest level of education (primary school) compared with infants of parents with the highest level of education (5+ years of university education). The slope index of inequality was between -38.86 and -48.81 during the entire study period, P=0.80. This indicated that both the relative and absolute social inequality in full breastfeeding to at least 4 months of age was unchanged in the study period from 2002 to 2019. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed a persistent relative and absolute social inequality in full breastfeeding for at least 4 months from 2002 to 2019 in Denmark.

Parental education, parent-child relations and diagnosed mental disorders in childhood: prospective child cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Mental disorder in childhood is an important public health issue. We aimed to examine the prospective association between parental education at childbirth and diagnosed mental disorders in young children and explore whether this association was mediated or modified by parent-child relations in infancy. METHODS: Prospective cohort study of all newborn was from 2002 to 2010 from 16 municipalities in the capital region of Copenhagen, Denmark, with follow-up until their 8th birthday, N = 40 762. Baseline data included information from national population registers and from health visitors' records at child aged 0 to 10 months. Outcome variable: any mental disorder diagnosed at hospital from age 11 months to 8 years. RESULTS: Low parental education was predictive of diagnosed child mental disorder, adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.83 (95% CI 1.49-2.23). Problematic parent-child relation at age 8-10 months was also predictive of mental disorder, AOR = 2.06 (1.57-2.70) but did not mediate the association between parental education and mental disorder. AOR for mental disorders was 3.24 (2.03-5.16 for the combination vocational training and problematic parent-child relation and 2.49 (1.42-4.38) for the combination primary school and problematic parent-child relation. CONCLUSIONS: Low parental education and problematic parent-child relation were independent risk factors for diagnosed mental disorders in the age span of 11 months to 8 years.