The Association between a History of Parental Addictions and Arthritis in Adulthood: Findings from a Representative Community Survey

Aims. To examine the relationship between a history of parental addictions and the cumulative lifetime incidence of arthritis while controlling for age, sex, race, and four clusters of risk factors: (1) other adverse childhood experiences, (2) adult health behaviors (i.e., smoking, obesity, inactivity, and alcohol consumption), (3) adult socioeconomic status and (4) mental health. Materials and Methods. Secondary analysis of 13,036 Manitoba and Saskatchewan respondents of the population-based 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey. Sequential logistic regression analyses were conducted. Findings. After controlling for demographic characteristics, including age, gender, and race, respondents who reported a history of parental addictions had significantly higher odds of arthritis in comparison to individuals without (OR=1.58; 95% CI 1.38–1.80). Adjustment for socioeconomic status, adult health behaviors, and mental health conditions had little impact on the parental addictions and arthritis relationship. The association between parental addictions and arthritis was substantially reduced when adverse childhood experiences (OR=1.33; 95% CI 1.15–1.53) and all four groups of risk factors collectively (OR=1.30; 95% CI = 1.12–1.51) were included in the analyses; however, the relationship remained statistically significant. Conclusions. A robust association was found between parental addictions and cumulative lifetime incidence of arthritis. This link remained even when controlling for four groups of potential risk factors