scholarly journals Epigenetic gestational age and trajectories of weight and height during childhood: a prospective cohort study

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold D. Bright ◽  
Laura D. Howe ◽  
Jasmine N. Khouja ◽  
Andrew J. Simpkin ◽  
Matthew Suderman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Gestational Age ◽  
Maternal Education ◽  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Mean Difference ◽  
Birth Cohort Study ◽  
Smoking During Pregnancy ◽  
Childhood Weight ◽  
Parents And Children

Abstract Background Differences between an individual’s estimated epigenetic gestational age (EGA) and their actual gestational age (GA) are defined as gestational age acceleration (GAA). GAA is associated with increased birthweight and birth length. Whether these associations persist through childhood is yet to be investigated. Methods We examined the association between GAA and trajectories of height and weight from birth to 10 years (n = 785) in a British birth cohort study, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). EGA of participants was estimated using DNA methylation data from cord blood using a recently developed prediction model. GAA of participants, measured in weeks, was calculated as the residuals from a regression model of EGA on actual GA. Analyses were performed using linear spline multilevel models and adjusted for maternal age, maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and maternal education. Results In adjusted analyses, offspring with a one-week greater GAA were born on average 0.14 kg heavier (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.09, 0.19) and 0.55 cm taller (95% CI 0.33, 0.78) at birth. These differences in weight persisted up to approximately age 9 months but thereafter began to attenuate. From age 5 years onwards, the association between GAA and weight reversed such that GAA was associated with lower weight and this association strengthened with age (mean difference at age 10 years − 0.60 kg, 95% CI − 1.19, − 0.01). Differences in height persisted only up to age 9 months (mean difference at 9 months 0.15 cm, 95% CI − 0.09, 0.39). From age 9 months to age 10 years, offspring with a one-week greater GAA were of comparable height with those with no GAA (mean difference at age 10 years − 0.07 cm, 95% CI − 0.64, 0.50). Conclusions Gestational age acceleration is associated with increased birth weight and length and these differences persist to age 9 months. From age 5 years onwards, the association of GAA and weight reverses such that by age 10 years, greater GAA is associated with lower childhood weight. Further work is required to examine whether the weight effects of GAA strengthen through adolescence and into early adulthood.

scholarly journals Epigenetic gestational age and trajectories of weight and height during childhood: a prospective cohort study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold D. Bright ◽  
Laura D. Howe ◽  
Jasmine N. Khouja ◽  
Andrew J. Simpkin ◽  
Matthew Suderman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Gestational Age ◽  
Maternal Education ◽  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Mean Difference ◽  
Birth Cohort Study ◽  
Smoking During Pregnancy ◽  
Childhood Weight ◽  
Clinical Records

AbstractBackgroundDifferences between an individual’s estimated epigenetic gestational age (EGA) and their actual gestational age (GA) are defined as gestational age acceleration (GAA). GAA is associated with increased birthweight and birth length. Whether these associations persist through childhood is yet to be investigated.MethodsWe examined the association between GAA and trajectories of height and weight from birth to 10 years (n=785) in a British birth cohort study, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). EGA of participants was estimated using DNA methylation data from cord blood using a recently-developed prediction model. GA of participants was gathered in ALSPAC from clinical records and was measured from last menstrual period (LMP) for most participants. GAA of participants, measured in weeks, was calculated as the residuals from a regression model of EGA on actual GA. Height and weight were obtained from several sources including birth records, research clinics, routine child health clinics, links to health visitor records and parent-reported measures from questionnaires. Analyses were performed using linear spline multilevel models and adjusted for maternal age, maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, maternal smoking during pregnancy and maternal education.ResultsIn adjusted analyses, offspring with a one-week greater GAA were born on average 0.14 kg heavier (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.09, 0.19) and 0.55 cm taller (95% CI 0.33, 0.78) at birth. These differences in weight persisted up to approximately age 9 months but thereafter began to attenuate and reduce in magnitude. From age 5 years onwards, the association between GAA and weight reversed such that GAA was associated with lower weight and this association strengthened with age (mean difference at age 10 years −0.60 kg (95% CI, −1.19, −0.01)). Differences in height persisted only up to age 9 months (mean difference at 9 months 0.15 cm, (95% CI −0.09, 0.39)). From age 9 months to age 10 years, offspring with a one-week greater GAA were of comparable height to those with no GAA (mean difference at age 10 years −0.07 cm, (95% CI −0.64, 0.50)).ConclusionsGestational age acceleration is associated with increased birth weight and length and these differences persist to age 9 months. From 5 years onwards, the association of GAA and weight reverses such that by age 10 years greater GAA is associated with lower childhood weight. Further work is required to examine whether the weight effects of GAA strengthen further through adolescence and into early adulthood.

scholarly journals Maternal haemoglobin in pregnancy and offspring childhood weight and height trajectories: analysis of a prospective birth cohort study

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 236
Author(s):  
Yvette V Pyne ◽  
Laura D Howe ◽  
Abigail Fraser
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Birth Cohort Study ◽  
Childhood Weight ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
Adverse Pregnancy ◽  
In Pregnancy

Background: Both anaemia and high haemoglobin in pregnancy are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes including foetal growth restriction. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between maternal haemoglobin in pregnancy and trajectories of length/height and weight from birth through childhood. Methods: Data from 7,597 singleton pregnancies in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), an ongoing, prospective, UK population-based pregnancy cohort study were used. We examined associations between maternal haemoglobin (overall pregnancy and trimester specific) and offspring length and weight at birth, as well as trajectories of height and weight gain from birth to age 10 years derived from multilevel models. Results: Mean pregnancy haemoglobin was 11.61 g/dL (SD 1.12). For each 1g/dL higher mean overall pregnancy haemoglobin, offspring were on average -0.30 cm shorter (95%CI: -0.35, -0.24, p <0.001), and -97.7 g lighter (95%CI: -110.42, -84.93, p <0.001) at birth when adjusting for potential confounders. Trimester specific inverse associations with birth length and weight were strongest for third trimester haemoglobin. There was evidence of a positive association between maternal haemoglobin levels and offspring height gain up to the age of one year and no strong evidence of associations between pregnancy haemoglobin and childhood weight gain. Conclusions: In high income countries, higher maternal haemoglobin in pregnancy may be a concern, as well as anaemia. Further studies are needed to define ‘high’ haemoglobin in pregnancy and whether monitoring of women with high pregnancy haemoglobin is warranted.

scholarly journals Cognitive trajectories from infancy to early adulthood following birth before 26 weeks of gestation: a prospective, population-based cohort study

2017 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 363-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Linsell ◽  
Samantha Johnson ◽  
Dieter Wolke ◽  
Helen O’Reilly ◽  
Joan K Morris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Infant Development ◽  
Maternal Education ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Mean Difference ◽  
Cognitive Test ◽  
Extremely Preterm

ObjectiveTo determine the trajectory of cognitive test scores from infancy to adulthood in individuals born extremely preterm compared with term-born individuals.DesignA prospective, population-based cohort study.Setting276 maternity units in the UK and Ireland.Patients315 surviving infants born less than 26 completed weeks of gestation recruited at birth in 1995 and 160 term-born classroom controls recruited at age 6.Main outcome measuresBayley Scales of Infant Development-Second Edition (age 2.5); Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (ages 6/11); Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence-Second Edition (age 19).ResultsThe mean cognitive scores of extremely preterm individuals over the period were on average 25.2 points below their term-born peers (95% CI −27.8 to −22.6) and remained significantly lower at every assessment. Cognitive trajectories in term-born boys and girls did not differ significantly, but the scores of extremely preterm boys were on average 8.8 points below those of extremely preterm girls (95% CI −13.6 to −4.0). Higher maternal education elevated scores in both groups by 3.2 points (95% CI 0.8 to 5.7). Within the extremely preterm group, moderate/severe neonatal brain injury (mean difference: −10.9, 95% CI −15.5 to −6.3) and gestational age less than 25 weeks (mean difference: −4.4, 95% CI −8.4 to −0.4) also had an adverse impact on cognitive function.ConclusionsThere is no evidence that impaired cognitive function in extremely preterm individuals materially recovers or deteriorates from infancy through to 19 years. Cognitive test scores in infancy and early childhood reflect early adult outcomes.

scholarly journals Young adult cancer risk behaviours originate in adolescence: a longitudinal analysis using ALSPAC, a UK birth cohort study

BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Wright ◽  
Jon Heron ◽  
Ruth Kipping ◽  
Matthew Hickman ◽  
Rona Campbell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Waist Circumference ◽  
Cancer Risk ◽  
Tobacco Smoking ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Birth Cohort Study ◽  
Risk Behaviours ◽  
Harmful Drinking ◽  
High Waist Circumference ◽  
Adolescent Cancer

Abstract Background An estimated 40% of cancer cases in the UK in 2015 were attributable to cancer risk behaviours. Tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, and unprotected sexual intercourse are known causes of cancer and there is strong evidence that physical inactivity is associated with cancer. These cancer risk behaviours co-occur however little is known about how they pattern longitudinally across adolescence and early adulthood. Using data from ALSPAC, a prospective population-based UK birth cohort study, we explored patterns of adolescent cancer risk behaviours and their associations with cancer risk behaviours in early adulthood. Methods Six thousand three hundred fifty-one people (46.0% of ALSPAC participants) provided data on all cancer risk behaviours at one time during adolescence, 1951 provided data on all cancer risk behaviours at all time points. Our exposure measure was quartiles of a continuous score summarising cumulative exposure to cancer risk behaviours and longitudinal latent classes summarising distinct categories of adolescents exhibiting similar patterns of behaviours, between age 11 and 18 years. Using both exposure measures, odds of harmful drinking (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-C ≥ 8),daily tobacco smoking, nicotine dependence (Fagerström test ≥4), obesity (BMI ≥30), high waist circumference (females: ≥80 cm and males: ≥94 cm, and high waist-hip ratio (females: ≥0.85 and males: ≥1.00) at age 24 were estimated using logistic regression analysis. Results We found distinct groups of adolescents characterised by consistently high and consistently low engagement in cancer risk behaviours. After adjustment, adolescents in the top quartile had greater odds of all outcomes in early adulthood: nicotine dependency (odds ratio, OR = 5.37, 95% confidence interval, CI = 3.64–7.93); daily smoking (OR = 5.10, 95% CI =3.19–8.17); obesity (OR = 4.84, 95% CI = 3.33–7.03); high waist circumference (OR = 2.48, 95% CI = 1.94–3.16); harmful drinking (OR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.57–2.65); and high waist-hip ratio (OR = 1.88, 95% CI = 1.30–2.71), compared to the bottom quartile. In latent class analysis, adolescents characterised by consistently high-risk behaviours throughout adolescence were at higher risk of all cancer risk behaviours at age 24, except harmful drinking. Conclusions Exposure to adolescent cancer risk behaviours greatly increased the odds of cancer risk behaviours in early adulthood. Interventions to reduce these behaviours should target multiple rather than single risk behaviours and should focus on adolescence.

Factors associated with the development of paediatric chronic otitis media by age nine: a prospective longitudinal cohort study of 6560 children

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
P J Clamp ◽  
K De-Loyde ◽  
A R Maw ◽  
S Gregory ◽  
J Golding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Otitis Media ◽  
Maternal Education ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Chronic Otitis Media ◽  
Birth Cohort Study ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Prospective Longitudinal

Abstract Objective This study aimed to analyse social, health and environmental factors associated with the development of chronic otitis media by age nine. Method This was a prospective, longitudinal, birth cohort study of 6560 children, reviewed at age nine. Chronic otitis media defined as previous surgical history or video-otoscopic changes of tympanic membrane retraction, perforation or cholesteatoma. Non-affected children were used as the control group. Results Univariate analysis demonstrated an association between chronic otitis media and otorrhoea, snoring, grommet insertion, adenoidectomy, tonsillectomy, hearing loss, abnormal tympanograms and preterm birth. Multivariate analysis suggests many of these factors may be interrelated. Conclusion The association between chronic otitis media and otorrhoea, abnormal tympanograms and grommets supports the role of the Eustachian tube and otitis media (with effusion or acute) in the pathogenesis of chronic otitis media. The role of snoring, adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy is unclear. Associations suggested by previous studies (sex, socioeconomic group, parental smoking, maternal education, childcare, crowding and siblings) were not found to be significant predictors in this analysis.

The protective role of trait anxiety: a longitudinal cohort study

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. E. LEE ◽  
M. E. J. WADSWORTH ◽  
M. HOTOPF
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Medical Intervention ◽  
Birth Cohort Study ◽  
Fatal Accidents

Background. Most research has indicated that neuroticism (or trait anxiety) is associated with only negative outcomes. Such a common, heritable and variable trait is expected to have beneficial as well as detrimental effects. We tested the hypothesis that trait anxiety in childhood reduces the risk of dying from accidental causes in early adult life.Method. A longitudinal, population-based, birth cohort study of 4070 men and women born in the UK in 1946. Trait anxiety as judged by teachers when the participants were 13 and 15 years old, and the neuroticism scale of a Maudsley Personality Inventory (MPI) when the participants were 16 years old. Outcomes were deaths, deaths from accidents, non-fatal accidents, and non-fatal accidents requiring medical intervention.Results. Adolescents with low trait anxiety had higher rates of accident mortality to age 25 [low anxiety at 13, hazard ratio (HR) 5·9, low anxiety at 15, HR 1·8]. Low trait anxiety in adolescence was associated with decreased non-accidental mortality after age 25 (low anxiety at 13, HR 0; low anxiety at 15, HR 0·7; low neuroticism at 16, HR 0·7).Conclusions. High trait anxiety measured in adolescence is associated with reduced accidents and accidental death in early adulthood but higher rates of non-accidental mortality in later life.

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