Jean Golding

..The patterns of overweight/obesity differ by age, sex, rural or urban residence and socioeconomic position (SEP) and vary between and within countries...

....

..Although a longitudinal study could be carried out using just one type of data, greater depth and accuracy can be achieved by including a variety of different sources of information...

..Here we describe examples of the types of outcome that a birth cohort should collect, with emphasis on accuracy. We emphasise the use of continuous traits as well as of dichotomous outcomes, using a variety of examples...

....

..The resource should be available for cohorts planned in the developed and developing world, as well as those countries in transition. We discuss possible strategies for funding such a centre...

..Children who were tasters (75% of sample) were slightly more likely to have been described as fussy eaters than the nontasters, and the supertasters were more likely to be in the lowest height decile at age 10...

..Because different measures will continually be introduced as the participants age, the preparation, piloting and validation studies have to be ongoing. Here we describe some of the different strategies that should be used...

....

....

..The quality of the data has proved high in validation studies and is maintained by collaboration with experts in each specialist field. The high participation rate ensures a viable study well into the future...

..Long-term influences can even affect chronic diseases of adulthood. Here we describe the major psychosocial and physical environmental factors that should be measured in longitudinal birth cohort studies...

..For each category we give examples of ways in which they have been employed in current pregnancy birth cohort studies...

..In this paper we outline various strategies that can be included in order to maximise the response rates...

..We test the hypothesis that low seafood intake during pregnancy is associated with increased prevalence of depressive symptoms...

....

..Here we discuss the optimal time to start such a study, and criteria for inclusion and exclusion of subjects...

..In this paper we discuss the ways in which other birth cohort studies have made these choices and outline the advantages and disadvantages of different scenarios...

..Here we describe ways in which different birth cohorts have addressed this issue and explore the advantages of smaller detailed studies over larger less-detailed studies...

..A number of studies have assessed ages of parents of children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD), and reported both maternal and paternal age effects. Here we assess relationships with grandparental ages...

..To examine the impact of a range of early childhood factors on the risk for daytime wetting and soiling...

..To explore the associations between probable developmental coordination disorder (DCD) defined at age 7 years and mental health difficulties at age 9 to 10 years...

..To explore associations between developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and attention, language, social skills, and academic ability in a population-based cohort...

..We explored the interrelationship between trajectories of co-occurring symptoms, and sought evidence for shared prenatal/perinatal risk factors...

..Data access is described in this article and is currently set up as a supported access resource. To date, over 700 peer-reviewed articles have been published using ALSPAC data...

..However, by 7 years, no associations were observed with the maternal genotype. This suggested that the children's FA levels were related only to their own metabolism with no apparent lasting influences of the in utero environment...

..To investigate the feeding, diet and growth of young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD)...

..The main aim is to examine whether initiation of toilet training after 24 months is associated with increased odds of daytime wetting in school-age children...

..This study investigated whether rs4307059 also operates as a quantitative trait locus underlying a broader autism phenotype in the general population, focusing specifically on the social communication aspect of the spectrum...

..Associations between children's cognitive function and both maternal and child genotype at these loci can shed light on the effects of maternal alcohol consumption on offspring cognitive development...

..Limb pain prevalence may have been under-reported in this study due to gradual attrition, particularly in the less educated mothers among whom the highest prevalence of limb pain was reported...

..Interventions at both an individual and a community level are important to support families and reduce the risk of maltreatment...

..We expected that only higher levels of alcohol consumption would be associated with later mental health problems and that any associations might be more readily detectable in boys...

..The aim of this research was to test in a large United Kingdom population-based cohort whether there is any evidence to justify such concerns...

..A study by Caspi et al has suggested that rs174575 within the FADS2 gene moderates this effect so that children homozygous in the minor allele (GG genotype) have similar IQs irrespective of feeding method...

..Here we outline those that are particularly useful in longitudinal birth cohort studies starting in pregnancy, and discuss their advantages and disadvantages...

..To study the association between parental depression and maternal antidepressant use during pregnancy with autism spectrum disorders in offspring...

..We believe that this approach can generate data that will be useful in answering generic questions about genotype/phenotype associations as well as in discovering novel ones...

..Such responses add an entirely new dimension to the study of gene-environment interactions in development and health...

..We tested the hypothesis that maternal exposure to stressful life events would be associated with increased risks of offspring ASD, and that these risks would be highest for exposures during the prenatal period...

..To calculate the prevalence of developmental coordination disorder at 7 years of age by using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria in a large UK birth cohort...

..It is increasingly recognised that traits associated with autism reflect a spectrum with no clear boundary between typical and atypical behaviour. Dimensional traits are needed to investigate the broader autism phenotype...

..The objective of this study was to examine differences in intellectual capacities between children with and without soiling, daytime wetting, and bed-wetting...

..Although there is also evidence of milder cognitive impairment in later life in carriers of the APOE ε4 allele, there have been few studies investigating the impact of APOE genotype on cognitive function in children...

..Details of how to access these data are provided in this cohort profile...

..To compare social and behavioural outcomes between children formally diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) with those of children who displayed autistic traits at preschool age, but remained undiagnosed as teenagers...

..CONCLUSION: The findings confirm that antenatal anxiety occurs frequently, overlaps with depression and increases the likelihood of postnatal depression...

..005) at 8 years of age. Early, persistent, and severe feeding difficulties are a marker for subsequent poor growth, feeding, and developmental outcomes and can identify children with CP who will benefit from gastrostomy feeding...

..Grandparents are increasingly involved in the care of young children, but little is known about factors associated with this type of care, or its implications for children's behavioural development...

..This study establishes that common genetic variation, in addition to rare mutations and environmental factors, can affect both FPG and birth weight...

..We aimed to replicate a previous study of 1-year-olds that reported a deficit in motor development associated with moderate alcohol use during lactation, using a different but comparable population...

..Confirmation of these risk factors in future studies could lead to new strategies to prevent sensitization in infants who are at risk for subsequent peanut allergy...

..CONCLUSIONS: When fish is not contaminated, moderate fish intake during pregnancy and infancy may benefit development...

..CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that child sexual abuse has long-term repercussions for adult mental health, parenting relationships, and child adjustment in the succeeding generation...

..Previous animal investigations link antenatal stress with a range of persistent behavioural abnormalities in the offspring. The current study examined if the effect was also found in humans through middle childhood...

..The present study was designed to pit these alternatives against one another as possible causal influences...

..The aim of this study was to investigate the association of total duration of oral contraceptive usage with time to conception...

..Animal experiments suggest that maternal stress and anxiety during pregnancy have long-term effects on the behaviour of the offspring...

..5 years old, and to examine the frequency of variables such as gender, severity, associated elimination problems, and clinical signs within the identified group...

..This study examined the long-term association between prenatal anxiety and measures of diurnal cortisol at age 10 years...

..We used the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to assess the possible benefits and hazards to a child's development of different levels of maternal seafood intake during pregnancy...

..This polymorphism affects cognitive function in healthy adults and may contribute to risk for schizophrenia...

..The ALSPAC study team comprises interviewers, computer technicians, laboratory technicians, clerical workers, research scientists, volunteers, and managers who continue to make the study possible...

..As age at menarche is a heritable trait, we hypothesised that age at menarche in the mother may in turn predict her children's early growth and obesity risk...

..Further research elucidating the factors that moderate children's adjustment to parental separation is needed to improve our understanding of who may most likely benefit from preventive interventions...

..Findings are in line with those of earlier investigations showing positive mother-child relationships and well-adjusted children...

..Although other, unmeasured factors may explain the relation, the results suggest that normal variability in T levels prenatally may contribute to the development of individual differences in the gender role behavior of preschool girls...

..There are no published studies on the relation between swimming and birth weight. We explored this relation in a large birth cohort, the Avon (England) Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), in 1991-1992...

..Our results suggest that prenatal stress does not influence the development of gender role behavior in boys and appears to have relatively little, if any, influence on gender role behavior in girls...

..9, [95% confidence interval 1.0, 3.4]). More detailed evaluation of the potential adverse effects of elective dental treatment during pregnancy, particularly dental X-rays, may be warranted...

..In conclusion, pesticide use is underreported in questionnaires, and behaviour and risk perception may affect the reporting...

....

..A cutoff point of 78 kU/l had the highest positive predictive value for visible eczema at 5 years of age of 28.6%, with a sensitivity of 12% and specificity of 95%...

..Previous studies suggest that separation is a major stressful life event that is linked with marked increases in depressive symptoms. Little is known, however, about the sources of variation in depressive symptoms following separation...

..Although infection has been implicated in endothelial dysfunction and atherogenesis, the impact of acute common childhood infections on the vascular endothelium is unknown...

..Infancy is a recognizable starting point of life; we find that to a small but significant degree, infancy also represents a setting point in the life of the individual...

..5% and a specificity of 95.8%. Although significant differences in early life IgE measurements were seen, the extent of overlap was great, such that the overall performance of IgE at 12 months as a screening test for atopy was poor...

..Over 85 different pesticide products were found to be stored in 76% of homes, with 76 different types of pesticide active ingredients. Insecticides were the most commonly used and stored pesticide...

..Girls' narratives showed more affection than boys' and were more strongly associated with mothers' interview measures, suggesting that girls' play narratives reveal a more accurate picture of family relationships...

..It is a public health concern that the instructions on the labels of products may not always be understood or followed, and further understanding of user behaviour is needed...

..Animal studies have shown that prenatal stress is linked with altered laterality in the offspring...

..The results of the study suggest a link between the use of products that raise indoor levels of TVOCs and an increased risk of certain symptoms among infants and their mothers...