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

Neonatal identification of children at high somatic risk due to inherited alpha 1 antitrypsin deficiency (ATD) has been found to elicit 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 years 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 versus 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.