Maternal parity as a predictor of offspring adult mortality – a longitudinal cohort study of people born 1927–1937 in the Faroe Islands

Data from a population-based birth cohort of 4,208 individuals born in the Faroe Islands between 1927 and 1937 were linked to adult mortality records to examine the association between maternal parity and offspring mortality. Among men, a trend was observed between maternal parity ≥ 1 and risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 1.247; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.992–1.502; p = 0.088). No corresponding association was observed among women. When maternal parity was categorised into three levels, inverse associations were observed in women: those born to mothers with parity > 4 had borderline lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR 0.712; 95% CI 0.367–1.057; p = 0.055), a borderline lower risk of premature death (HR 0.655; 95% CI 0.198–1.111; p = 0.069), and a significantly reduced risk of cancer mortality (HR 0.457; 95% CI 0.000–0.915; p = 0.027). These findings indicate a potential sex-specific influence of maternal parity on adult offspring mortality.