Impact of parental cancer on IQ, stress resilience, and physical fitness in young men

Abstract

BackgroundA parental cancer diagnosis is a stressful life event, potentially leading to increased risks of mental and physical problems among children. This study aimed to investigate the associations of parental cancer with IQ, stress resilience, and physical fitness of the affected men during early adulthood.Materials and methodsIn this Swedish population-based study, we included 465,249 men born during 1973–1983 who underwent the military conscription examination around the age of 18 years. We identified cancer diagnoses among the parents of these men from the Cancer Register. IQ, stress resilience, and physical fitness of the men were assessed at the time of conscription and categorized into three levels: low, moderate, and high (reference category). We used multinomial logistic regression to assess the studied associations.ResultsOverall, parental cancer was associated with higher risks of low stress resilience (relative risk ratio [RRR]: 1.09 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04–1.15]) and low physical fitness (RRR: 1.12 [95% CI 1.05–1.19]). Stronger associations were observed for parental cancer with a poor expected prognosis (low stress resilience: RRR: 1.59 [95% CI 1.31–1.94]; low physical fitness: RRR: 1.45 [95% CI 1.14–1.85]) and for parental death after cancer diagnosis (low stress resilience: RRR: 1.29 [95% CI 1.16–1.43]; low physical fitness: RRR: 1.40 [95% CI 1.23–1.59]). Although there was no overall association between parental cancer and IQ, parental death after cancer diagnosis was associated with a higher risk of low IQ (RRR: 1.11 [95% CI 1.01–1.24]).ConclusionParental cancer, particularly severe and fatal type, is associated with higher risks of low stress resilience and low physical fitness among men during early adulthood. Men who experienced parental death after cancer diagnosis also have a higher risk of low IQ.

Association Between Physical Fitness and Anxiety in Children: A Moderated Mediation Model of Agility and Resilience

“…Physical fitness appears to confer resilience by blunting or optimizing neuroendocrine and physiological responses (e.g., the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the sympathetic nervous system) to physical and psychosocial stressors ( 23 ). In line with previous studies ( 47 – 49 ), our result is meaningful in that it supports physical fitness being an effective manner of building resilience in children. On the other hand, resilience can also indirectly reduce the negative effects of stress on anxiety through its mediation effect ( 50 , 51 ).…”

Death of a parent during childhood and blood pressure in youth: a population-based cohort study of Swedish men

“…A further though—in light of the fact that exposure in young age was not associated with the outcome—less likely explanation for the association between parental death due to natural causes and hypertension is that natural deaths may be proceeded by a long period of disease which may induce chronic stress for family members. 57 The stronger association between parental death in adolescence and hypertension than in earlier periods of life—besides better statistical power—is also likely to be due to residual confounding, given the higher proportion of parental deaths related to cardiometabolic conditions in the older age group.…”

Heart rate, intelligence in adolescence, and Parkinson’s disease later in life

“…During the examination, trained healthcare professionals collected detailed data on health status, including physical fitness, BMI, resting heart rate (RHR), blood pressure, IQ, and stress resilience. Details about these measurements have been described elsewhere [ 14 ]. In brief, physical fitness was measured by the maximum working capacity in Watts that an individual could sustain on a progressively increasingly loaded electric bicycle until exhaustion, for a maximum of six minutes.…”