Identifying children at high somatic risk (?1antitrypsin deficiency): possible long-term effects on parents' reproduction, marital status and social class level

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Neonatal identification of children at high somatic risk due to inherited .alpha.1 antitrypsin deficiency (ATD) elicits a negative emotional reaction in a majority of the parents, at least initially. This sub-study was conducted to determine whether the identification and follow-up of the children''s ATD had negatively influenced the families'' reproduction, marital status and social class level (defined by parental occupation) during the 5 yr following the identification of the children''s ATD. No such negative effects were found in comparing these characteristics among 61 families with a child with ATD vs. 183 control families living in the same area and having a child of the same sex and age. Unexpectedly, the ATD-children''s families (fathers) had a significantly higher social class level, raising the question of a possible gene advantage associated with ATD.