Somatic disease burden in parents of children with cancer – a nationwide cohort study in Sweden

Objective: A diagnosis of childhood cancer is profoundly devastating for families, with well-recognized effects on parental mental health. However, its impact on parental somatic health remains poorly understood, particularly regarding potential long-term cumulative burden. These persistent somatic diseases require frequent clinic visits for ongoing management and adversely affect parents' quality of life. Methods: Using several Swedish national registers, we identified biological parents of children diagnosed with cancer before age 14 between January 1, 1987, and December 31, 2016, and matched them with up to five parents of children without cancer. Parental somatic health conditions, encompassing both the initial occurrence and any recurrent episodes, were identified through the end of 2018 across 14 major disease groups using the National Patient Register and primary health care data. The marginal means/rates model was employed to compare recurrent somatic health events. Results: A total of 6859 fathers and 7098 mothers of children diagnosed with cancer in Sweden were identified and followed for up to 32 years. Parents of children with cancer experienced increased rates of recurrent somatic health conditions compared to those without (84.14 vs. 80.63 per 1000 person-months). The increases were observed across multiple disease categories, including neoplasms, diseases related to blood and immune mechanisms, circulatory diseases, and genital organ diseases. Stratified analyses further revealed variations in risk estimates across subgroups. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the long-term somatic health consequences of having a child with cancer and the need for supportive interventions to mitigate stress and improve parental somatic well-being.