Children whose parents divorce may be more susceptible to various health problems later in life, new research suggests.  

People whose parents split before they reached age 16 had significantly higher levels of C-reactive protein — a blood marker of inflammation that’s associated with greater risk of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, researchers at the University College London found.  

The study, published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, included samples taken at age 44 from 7,462 people who participated in the longitudinal 1958 National Child Development Study, the Huffington Post reports.  

The authors also looked at why this link might exist.  

They found that the relationship between parental divorce and possible ill-health was mainly explained by adolescent material disadvantage and educational attainment, although the specific mechanisms remain unclear.  
In particular, those who experienced parental separation before the age of 16 were more likely to be materially disadvantaged in adolescence and had lower educational qualifications by adulthood, compared to children who grew up with both parents.

Dr Rebecca Lacey, Research Associate in the UCL Department of Epidemiology and Public Health and lead author of the study, said: “Our study suggests that it is not parental divorce or separation per se which increases the risk of later inflammation but that it is other social disadvantages, such as how well the child does in education, which are triggered by having experienced parental divorce which are important”.

This study underlines the importance of supporting separating families in order to help reduce the risk of later disease.

The study concludes “pathways through education appear to be particularly important and supporting children through education may be beneficial”.