scholarly journals Child Health CheckPoint: cohort summary and methodology of a physical health and biospecimen module for the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. 3-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan A Clifford ◽  
Sarah Davies ◽  
Melissa Wake
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Phenotypic Data ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Normal Ranges ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Neonatal Blood Spots ◽  
Parent Child

Objectives‘Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children’ (LSAC) is Australia's only nationally representative children’s longitudinal study, focusing on social, economic, physical and cultural impacts on health, learning, social and cognitive development. LSAC's first decade collected wide-ranging repeated psychosocial and administrative data; here, we describe the Child Health CheckPoint, LSAC’s dedicated biophysical module.Design, setting and participantsLSAC recruited a cross-sequential sample of 5107 infants aged 0–1 year and a sample of 4983 children aged 4–5 years in 2004, since completing seven biennial visits. CheckPoint was a cross-sectional wave that travelled Australia in 2015–2016 to reach LSAC’s younger cohort at ages 11–12 years between LSAC waves 6 and 7. Parent–child pairs participated in comprehensive assessments at 15 Assessment Centres nationwide or, if unable to attend, a shorter home visit.MeasuresCheckPoint’s intergenerational, multidimensional measures were prioritised to show meaningful variation within normal ranges and capture non-communicable disease (NCD) phenotype precursors. These included anthropometry, physical activity, fitness, time use, vision, hearing, and cardiovascular, respiratory and bone health. Biospecimens included blood, saliva, buccal swabs (also from second parent), urine, hair and toenails. The epidemiology and parent–child concordance of many measures are described in separate papers.Results1874 (54% of eligible) parent–child pairs and 1051 second parents participated. Participants' geographical distribution mirrored the broader Australian population; however, mean socioeconomic position and parental education were higher and fewer reported non-English-speaking or Indigenous backgrounds. Application of survey weights partially mitigates that the achieved sample is less population representative than previous waves of LSAC due to non-random attrition. Completeness was uniformly high for phenotypic data (>92% of eligible), biospecimens (74%–97%) and consent (genetic analyses 98%, accessing neonatal blood spots 97%, sharing 96%).ConclusionsCheckPoint enriches LSAC to study how NCDs develop at the molecular and phenotypic levels before overt disease emerges, and clarify the underlying dimensionality of health in childhood and mid-adulthood.

scholarly journals Ultra-processed food consumption in Barbados: evidence from a nationally representative, cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel M. Harris ◽  
Angela M. C. Rose ◽  
Suzanne Soares-Wynter ◽  
Nigel Unwin
Keyword(s):  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
Sweetened Beverages ◽  
Group 4 ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Nationally Representative

Abstract Our objective was to describe, for the first time in an English-speaking Caribbean country, the contribution of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) to nutrients linked to non-communicable disease. Using a cross-sectional study design, dietary data were collected from two non-consecutive 24-h dietary recalls. Recorded food items were then classified according to their degree of processing by the NOVA system. The present study took place in Barbados (2012–13). A representative population-based sample of 364 adult Barbadians (161 males and 203 females) aged 25–64 years participated in the study. UPFs represented 40⋅5 % (838 kcal/d; 95 % CI 791, 885) of mean energy intake. Sugar-sweetened beverages made the largest contribution to energy within the UPF category. Younger persons (25–44 years) consumed a significantly higher proportion of calories from UPF (NOVA group 4) compared with older persons (45–64 years). The mean energy shares of UPF ranged from 22⋅0 to 58⋅9 % for those in the lowest tertile to highest tertile. Within each tertile, the energy contribution was significantly higher in the younger age group (25–44 years) compared with the older (45–64 years). One-quarter of persons consume ≥50 % of their daily calories from UPF, this being significantly higher in younger persons. The ultra-processed diet fraction contained about six times the mean of free sugars and about 0⋅8 times the dietary fibre of the non-ultra-processed fraction (NOVA groups 1–3). Targeted interventions to decrease the consumption of UPF especially in younger persons is thus of high priority to improve the diet quality of Barbadians.

scholarly journals Changes in Australian community perceptions of non-communicable disease prevention: a greater role for government?

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne C. Grunseit ◽  
Eloise Howse ◽  
Erika Bohn-Goldbaum ◽  
Jo Mitchell ◽  
Adrian E. Bauman
Keyword(s):  
Government Intervention ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Soft Drink ◽  
Soft Drinks ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Community Perceptions ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Demographic Subgroups

Abstract Background Monitoring trends in community opinion can identify critical opportunities to implement upstream health policies or interventions. Our study examines change and demographic modifiers of change in community perceptions of government intervention for prevention of lifestyle-related chronic disease across two time points in Australia. Methods Data were drawn from the 2016 (n = 2052) and 2018 (n = 2601) waves of a nationally representative cross-sectional telephone survey, ‘AUSPOPS’. Survey questions gauged perceptions of government intervention for health in general, peoples’/organizations’ role in maintaining health (e.g., parents, government) and support for specific health interventions (e.g., taxing soft drink). Bivariate and multivariate regression models tested for change between the two surveys, adjusted for demographic characteristics. Models with interactions between survey wave and demographic variables tested for differential change. One-tailed variance ratio tests examined whether opinions had become more polarized in 2018 compared with 2016. Results The large, significant increase observed in the perceived size of the role that government has in maintaining people’s health was uniform across demographic subpopulations. The role for employers and private health insurers was also perceived to be larger in 2018 compared with 2016, but the degree of change varied by gender, age and/or socioeconomic status. Support for some government interventions (e.g., taxing soft drinks) increased among specific demographic subgroups whilst exhibiting no overall change. Opinion was more polarized on general attitudes to government intervention for population health in 2018 compared to 2016, despite little change in central tendency. Conclusions Opportunities may exist to implement government health-promoting policies (e.g., taxing soft drinks), although advocacy may be needed to address the concerns of less supportive subpopulations. Attitudes on government intervention in general may be becoming more polarized; future research examining the association of such changes with exposure to different information sources could inform communication strategies for future health policy change.

scholarly journals Sex differences in non-communicable disease prevalence in China: a cross-sectional analysis of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study in 2011

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. e017450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Liu ◽  
Guofeng Liu ◽  
Hongjiang Wu ◽  
Weiyan Jian ◽  
Sarah H Wild ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Heart Disease ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Lung Disease ◽  
Chronic Lung Disease ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Cross Sectional

ObjectivesTo describe the sex differences in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in adults aged 45 years or older in China.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingNationally representative sample of the Chinese population 2011.Participants8401 men and 8928 women over 45 years of age who participated in the first wave of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS).Outcome measuresSelf-reported data on overall health and diagnosis of hypertension, dyslipidaemia, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, chronic lung disease, cancer or arthritis. Sex differences in NCDs were described using logistic regression to generate odds ratios (OR) with adjustment for sociodemographic factors and health-related behaviours. All analyses were stratified by age group for 45–64-year-old and ≥65-year-old participants.ResultsIn both age groups, men reported better overall health than women. The crude prevalence of heart disease, cancer and arthritis was higher while that of stroke and chronic lung disease was lower in women than in men. After adjustment, ORs (95% CI) for the 45–64 and ≥65 year age groups were 0.70 (0.58 to 0.84) and 0.66 (0.54 to 0.80), respectively, for arthritis for men compared with women. In contrast, ORs were 1.66 (1.09 to 2.52) and 2.12 (1.36 to 3.30) for stroke and 1.51 (1.21 to 1.89) and 1.43 (1.09 to 1.88) for chronic lung disease for men compared with women. ORs for heart disease (0.65 (0.52 to 0.80)) were lower in men than in women only in the 45–64 year age group.ConclusionsOdds of arthritis were lower while those of stroke and chronic lung disease were higher in men than in women in both age groups. However, odds of heart disease were lower in men than in women, but only in the group of individuals aged 45–64 years.

scholarly journals Prevalence and associated factors of self-reported ischaemic heart disease and/or stroke: a cross-sectional nationally representative community-based study of adults in Malawi in 2017

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. e048167
Author(s):  
Supa Pengpid ◽  
Karl Peltzer
Keyword(s):  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Heart Disease ◽  
Ischaemic Heart Disease ◽  
Associated Factors ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Nationally Representative

ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of self-reported ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and/or stroke among adults in Malawi.DesignPopulation-based cross-sectional study.SettingNationally representative sample of general adult population in Malawi.ParticipantsThe sample included 4187 persons aged 18–69 years (32 years of median age) that participated in the ‘2017 Malawi STEPwise Approach to Non-Communicable Disease Risk-Factor Surveillance survey.’Primary and secondary outcome measuresSelf-reported history of IHD and/or stroke, along with biological, behavioural, psychosocial stress and sociodemographic covariates. Multivariable logistic regression calculated OR with 95% CI for IHD and/or stroke.ResultsThe prevalence of IHD and/or stroke was 6.5%, 4.4% among men and 8.4% among women. In adjusted logistic regression analysis, older age (50–69 years) (adjusted OR (AOR) 3.49, 95% CI 1.75 to 6.94), female sex (AOR 2.09, 95% CI 1.45 to 3.01), Chewa speaking (AOR 4.62, 95% CI 1.32 to 16.22), English speaking (AOR 5.63, 95% CI 1.43 to 22.19), suicidal ideation, plan and/or attempt (AOR 1.87, 95% CI 1.11 to 3.13) and sedentary behaviour (AOR 2.00, 95% CI 1.12 to 3.59) were associated with IHD and/or stroke. In addition, in unadjusted analysis, non-paid or unemployed, urban residence, overweight, obesity and having hypertension were associated with IHD and/or stroke.ConclusionsAlmost 1 in 10 women and 1 in 20 men aged 18–69 years had IHD and/or stroke in Malawi. Several risk and protective factors were found that can be targeted in population health interventions.

scholarly journals Pester power and its consequences: do European children’s food purchasing requests relate to diet and weight outcomes?

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (13) ◽  
pp. 2393-2403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Y Huang ◽  
Lucia A Reisch ◽  
Wencke Gwozdz ◽  
Dénes Molnár ◽  
Kenn Konstabel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weight Status ◽  
Eating Habits ◽  
Child Outcomes ◽  
Grocery Shopping ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Household Spending ◽  
Weight Outcomes ◽  
Idefics Study ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Parent Child

AbstractObjectiveChildren may influence household spending through ‘pester power’. The present study examined pestering through parent–child food shopping behaviours in relation to children’s diet and weight status.DesignCross-sectional and prospective analyses drawn from the IDEFICS study, a cohort study of parents and their children. Children’s height and weight were measured and their recent diets were reported by parental proxy based on the Children’s Eating Habits Questionnaire-FFQ at baseline and 2-year follow-up. Parents also completed questionnaires at both time points about pestering, including whether the child goes grocery shopping with them, asks for items seen on television and is bought requested food items.SettingParticipants were recruited from eight European countries for the IDEFICS study (non-nationally representative sample).SubjectsStudy participants were children aged 2–9 years at enrolment and their parents. A total of 13 217 parent–child dyads were included at baseline. Two years later, 7820 of the children were re-examined.ResultsMost parents (63 %) at baseline reported ‘sometimes’ acquiescing to their children’s requests to purchase specific foods. Pestering was modestly associated with weight and diet. At baseline, children whose parents ‘often’ complied consumed more high-sugar and high-fat foods. Children who ‘often’ asked for items seen on television were likely to become overweight after 2 years (OR=1·31), whereas ‘never’ asking protected against overweight (OR=0·72).ConclusionsPestering was modestly related to diet and weight in cross-sectional, but not longitudinal analyses. Asking for items seen on television had the most robust relationships across child outcomes and over time.

scholarly journals Health-related quality of life: population epidemiology and concordance in Australian children aged 11–12 years and their parents

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. 157-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Catchpool ◽  
Lisa Gold ◽  
Anneke C Grobler ◽  
Susan A Clifford ◽  
Melissa Wake
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Child Health ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Health Related Quality ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Parent Child

ObjectivesTo describe the distribution of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in a national sample of Australian children aged 11–12 years and their parents, and examine associations within parent–child dyads.DesignThe Child Health CheckPoint, a population-based cross-sectional study nested between waves 6 and 7 of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC).SettingAssessment centres in seven Australian cities and eight regional towns, or home visit; February 2015 to March 2016.ParticipantsOf all participating CheckPoint families (n=1874), 1853 children (49.0% girls) and 1863 parents (87.7% mothers) with HRQL data were included (1786 pairs).Outcome measuresHRQL was self-reported using preference-based (Child Health Utility 9Dimension, CHU9D) and non-preference-based (Pediatric Quality of Life, PedsQL V.4.0) measures for children and preference-based measures for parents (CHU9D; Assessment of Quality of Life 8 Dimension, AQoL-8D). Utility scores from preference-based measures were calculated using existing Australian algorithms to present a score on a 0–1 scale, where 1 represents full health. Parent–child concordance was assessed using Pearson’s correlation coefficients and adjusted linear regression models. Survey weights and methods were applied to account for LSAC’s complex sample design, stratification and clustering within postcodes.ResultsChildren’s means and SD were 0.81 (SD 0.16) for CHU9D and 78.3 (SD 13.03) for PedsQL. In adults, mean HRQL for AQoL-8D and CHU9D were 0.78 (SD 0.16) and 0.89 (SD 0.10), respectively. Mean HRQL was similar for boys and girls, but slightly higher for fathers than mothers. The Pearson correlation coefficient for parent–child CHU9D values was 0.13 (95% CI 0.09 to 0.18). Percentiles and concordance are presented for both samples for males and females separately and together.ConclusionsWe provide Australian paediatric population values for HRQL measures, and the first national CHU9D values for mid-life adults. At age 11–12 years in this relatively healthy sample, parent–child concordance in HRQL was small.

scholarly journals Impact of International Monetary Fund programs on child health

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (25) ◽  
pp. 6492-6497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adel Daoud ◽  
Elias Nosrati ◽  
Bernhard Reinsberg ◽  
Alexander E. Kentikelenis ◽  
Thomas H. Stubbs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Child Health ◽  
Protective Effect ◽  
International Monetary Fund ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Structural Adjustment ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Demographic And Health Surveys ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Imf Programs

Parental education is located at the center of global efforts to improve child health. In a developing-country context, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plays a crucial role in determining how governments allocate scarce resources to education and public health interventions. Under reforms mandated by IMF structural adjustment programs, it may become harder for parents to reap the benefits of their education due to wage contraction, welfare retrenchment, and generalized social insecurity. This study assesses how the protective effect of education changes under IMF programs, and thus how parents’ ability to guard their children’s health is affected by structural adjustment. We combine cross-sectional stratified data (countries, 67; children, 1,941,734) from the Demographic and Health Surveys and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. The sample represents ∼2.8 billion (about 50%) of the world’s population in year 2000. Based on multilevel models, our findings reveal that programs reduce the protective effect of parental education on child health, especially in rural areas. For instance, in the absence of IMF programs, living in an household with educated parents reduces the odds of child malnourishment by 38% [odds ratio (OR), 0.62; 95% CI, 0.66–0.58]; in the presence of programs, this drops to 21% (OR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.86–0.74). In other words, the presence of IMF conditionality decreases the protective effect of parents’ education on child malnourishment by no less than 17%. We observe similar adverse effects in sanitation, shelter, and health care access (including immunization), but a beneficial effect in countering water deprivation.

scholarly journals Mobile and Online Health Information: Exploring Digital Media Use among Austrian Parents

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (17) ◽  
pp. 6053 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Haluza ◽  
Isabella Böhm
Keyword(s):  
Child Health ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Family Policy ◽  
Medical Condition ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Cross Sectional

In today’s digitalized world, most parents are Internet-savvy and use online sources for child health information, mainly due to the 24/7 availability of advice. However, parents are often not specifically trained to identify reliable, evidence-based sources of information. In this cross-sectional online survey among a purposive, non-probabilistic sample of Austrian parents (n = 90, 81.1% females), we assessed aspects of health app use and family policy benefits-related and scenario-based Internet seeking behavior. We found that the surveyed parents showed a high health app use. The participants indicated that they prefer online information seeking to any other option in a scenario describing that their child would be sick at after-work hours, with social media channels being the least preferred source of online information. Mothers and younger parents were more likely to retrieve online information on family policy benefits. With the smartphone in everybody’s pocket, parents seemed to rely on mobile and online content when searching for child health information. Pediatricians are best suited to decide what treatment fits the child or their current medical condition, but nowadays they face increasing numbers of pre-informed parents seeking health information online. Provision of targeted parental education and guidance through the online information jungle could effectively empower parents and smooth personal and digital contacts in the delicate doctor–parent–child triangle.

Are All Immigrant Families Created Equal? The Acculturation and Social Integration of Mixed-Nativity Families

2020 ◽  
pp. 0192513X2091197
Author(s):  
Phoebe Ho ◽  
Grace Kao
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Social Integration ◽  
Children Of Immigrants ◽  
Family Meals ◽  
Immigrant Mothers ◽  
Representative Data ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Parent Child Relationships ◽  
Parent Child ◽  
Mixed Nativity

A large proportion of the children of immigrants are in mixed-nativity families, with one immigrant and one native-born parent. Despite their significant presence, the theoretical and empirical underpinnings for understanding mixed-nativity families’ acculturation and social integration are lacking. Using nationally representative data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, we compare the parent-child and family-school relationships of mixed-nativity families—separating those with immigrant mothers from those with immigrant fathers—to those of immigrant-only and native-only families. We find that parent-child relationships in mixed-nativity families are similar to those of native-only families in that they enforce more rules and share fewer family meals. However, families with immigrant mothers—including those with native-born fathers—are less connected to their children’s schools and to other parents. Our results highlight the need to consider mixed-nativity families as distinct from both immigrant-only and native-only families.

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