Menopause status and climacteric symptoms in a birth cohort of mid-life New Zealand women

Abstract Background This study examined the association between methamphetamine use and psychotic symptoms in a New Zealand general population birth cohort (n = 1265 at birth). Methods At age 18, 21, 25, 30, and 35, participants reported on their methamphetamine use and psychotic symptoms in the period since the previous interview. Generalized estimating equations modelled the association between methamphetamine use and psychotic symptoms (percentage reporting any symptom, and number of symptoms per participant). Confounding factors included childhood individual characteristics, family socioeconomic circumstances and family functioning. Long term effects of methamphetamine use on psychotic symptoms were assessed by comparing the incidence of psychotic symptoms at age 30–35 for those with and without a history of methamphetamine use prior to age 30. Results After adjusting for confounding factors and time-varying covariate factors including concurrent cannabis use, methamphetamine use was associated with a modest increase in psychosis risk over five waves of data (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 1.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03–1.72 for the percentage measure; and IRR 1.24, 95% CI 1.02–1.50 for the symptom count measure). The increased risk of psychotic symptoms was concentrated among participants who had used at least weekly at any point (adjusted OR 2.85, 95% CI 1.21–6.69). Use of methamphetamine less than weekly was not associated with increased psychosis risk. We found no evidence for a persistent vulnerability to psychosis in the absence of continuing methamphetamine use. Conclusion Methamphetamine use is associated with increased risk of psychotic symptoms in the general population. Increased risk is chiefly confined to people who ever used regularly (at least weekly), and recently.

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Effects of Single-Sex and Coeducational Schooling on the Gender Gap in Educational Achievement

Australian Journal of Education ◽

10.1177/000494410805200307 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 52 (3) ◽

pp. 301-317 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Sheree J. Gibb ◽

David M. Fergusson ◽

L. John Horwood

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

New Zealand ◽

School Choice ◽

Birth Cohort ◽

Gender Gap ◽

Educational Achievement ◽

Tertiary Education ◽

Single Sex ◽

Health And Development

This study examined the effects of single-sex and coeducational schooling on the gender gap in educational achievement to age 25. Data were drawn from the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1265 individuals born in 1977 in Christchurch, New Zealand. After adjustment for a series of covariates related to school choice, there were significant differences between single-sex and coeducational schools in the size and direction of the gender gap. At coeducational schools, there was a statistically significant gap favouring females, while at single-sex schools there was a non-significant gap favouring males. This pattern was apparent for educational achievement both at high school and in tertiary education. These results indicate that single-sex schooling may mitigate male disadvantages in educational achievement.

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Illicit Drug use and Dependence in a New Zealand Birth Cohort

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1080/j.1440-1614.2006.01763.x ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 40 (2) ◽

pp. 156-163 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

Joseph M. Boden ◽

David M. Fergusson ◽

L. John Horwood

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

New Zealand ◽

Drug Use ◽

Birth Cohort ◽

Drug Dependence ◽

Illicit Drugs ◽

Illicit Drug ◽

Illicit Drug Use ◽

Urban Region ◽

Adolescent Risk

Objective: To describe the patterns of illicit drug use in a birth cohort studied to the age of 25 years. Method: The data were gathered during the Christchurch Health and Development Study. In this study a cohort of 1265 children born in the Christchurch, New Zealand urban region in mid-1977 have been studied to the age of 25 years. Information was gathered on patterns of illicit drug use and dependence during the period 15–25 years. Results: By age 25 years, 76.7% of the cohort had used cannabis, while 43.5% had used other illicit drugs on at least one occasion. In addition, 12.5% of the cohort met DSM-IV criteria for dependence on cannabis, and 3.6% of the cohortmet criteria for dependence on other illicit drugs at some time by age 25. There was also evidence of substantial poly-drug use among the cohort, with hallucinogens and amphetamines being the most commonly used illicit drugs (excluding cannabis). Illicit drug use and dependence was higher in males, in Māori, and in those leaving school without qualifications. Key risk factors for illicit drug use and dependence included adolescent risk-taking behaviours including cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption, affiliation with substance-using peers, novelty-seeking, and conduct problems in adolescence. Other key risk factors included parental history of illicit drug use and childhood sexual abuse. Conclusions: Levels of cumulative illicit drug use in this cohort were relatively high, with the majority of respondents having tried illicit drugs by age 25. For the majority of illicit drug users, drug use did not lead to problems of dependence. Nonetheless, nearly 15% of the cohort showed symptoms of illicit drug dependence by the age of 25 years, with cannabis dependence accounting for the majority of illicit drug dependence.

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Cumulative incidence of infertility in a New Zealand birth cohort to age 38 by sex and the relationship with family formation

Fertility and Sterility ◽

10.1016/j.fertnstert.2014.12.121 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 103 (4) ◽

pp. 1053-1058.e2 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Thea van Roode ◽

Nigel Patrick Dickson ◽

Alida Antoinette Righarts ◽

Wayne Richard Gillett

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Birth Cohort ◽

Cumulative Incidence ◽

Family Formation ◽

The Relationship

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Characterising the ocular surface and tear film in a population-based birth cohort of 45-year old New Zealand men and women

The Ocular Surface ◽

10.1016/j.jtos.2020.08.005 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 808-813 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jennifer P. Craig ◽

Michael T.M. Wang ◽

Antony Ambler ◽

Kirsten Cheyne ◽

Graham A. Wilson

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Birth Cohort ◽

Ocular Surface ◽

Tear Film ◽

Population Based ◽

Men And Women

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Birth cohort trends in major depression: increasing rates and earlier onset in New Zealand

Journal of Affective Disorders ◽

10.1016/0165-0327(90)90063-e ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 83-89 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

Peter R. Joyce ◽

Mark A. Oakley-Browne ◽

J.Elisabeth Wells ◽

John A. Bushnell ◽

Andrew R. Hornblow

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Major Depression ◽

Birth Cohort

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Does Socioeconomic Inequality Explain Ethnic Differences in Nicotine Dependence? Evidence from a New Zealand Birth Cohort

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.3109/00048670903489908 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 44 (4) ◽

pp. 378-383 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dannette Marie ◽

David M. Fergusson ◽

Joseph M. Boden

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Ethnic Identity ◽

New Zealand ◽

Cultural Identity ◽

Socioeconomic Factors ◽

Birth Cohort ◽

Nicotine Dependence ◽

Cultural Identification ◽

Health And Development

Objective: The present study examined the role of socioeconomic status and cultural identity in the association between ethnicity and nicotine dependence, in a birth cohort of >1000 methods young people studied to age 30. Methods: Data were gathered on ethnicity, cultural identification, nicotine dependence, and socioeconomic factors, as part of a longitudinal study of a New Zealand birth cohort (the Christchurch Health and Development Study). Results: Those reporting Māori identity had rates of nicotine dependence that were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than rates for non-Māori. Control for socioeconomic factors reduced the associations between ethnic identity and nicotine dependence to statistical non-significance. In addition, there was no evidence of a statistically significant association between Māori cultural identity and nicotine dependence, nor was there evidence of gender differences in the association between ethnic identity and nicotine dependence, after controlling for socioeconomic factors. Conclusions: The higher rates of nicotine dependence observed among Māori appear to be attributable to differences in socioeconomic status. Efforts to improve the socioeconomic standing of Māori should therefore help to reduce rates of nicotine dependence in this population.

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