Antecedents to attentional flexibility in the second year

grantor: University of TorontoAntecedents to individual differences in attentional engagement associated with emotion regulation have been proposed but rarely studied. In this study, assessments of neonatal reactivity and self-regulation, and maternal responsiveness in the first year, were used to predict attentional flexibility during monthly emotion-eliciting episodes between 14 and 25 months of age. These associations were also examined for discontinuity of relationships across a hypothesized developmental transition at approximately 18-20 months. As expected, neonatal self-regulation predicted second-year attentional flexibility. Maternal responsiveness was found to be an unreliable predictor, with strong associations at some months only. No discontinuity was found across monthly correlations between the three predictors and attentional flexibility. However, results of regression analyses suggest that associations between antecedents and attentional flexibility were enhanced by contributions from maternal responsiveness and present distress starting at 20 months.M.A

Association between Serum Ferritin and Cognitive Function in Early Childhood

In infants 1-3 years of age, we found higher serum ferritin values associated with higher cognitive function, as measured by the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (P = .02 for the nonlinear relationship). A serum ferritin of 17 μg/L corresponded to the maximum level of cognition, beyond which there was no meaningful improvement.This work was supported by a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (FRN # 115059). Funding to support TARGet Kids! was provided by multiple sources including the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR), The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation (SP05-602, which supports the Pediatric Outcomes Research Team), and the St. Michael's Hospital Foundation

AUT756787_Lay_Abstract – Supplemental material for Prospective cohort study of vitamin D and autism spectrum disorder diagnoses in early childhood

<p>Supplemental material, AUT756787_Lay_Abstract for Prospective cohort study of vitamin D and autism spectrum disorder diagnoses in early childhood by Yamna Ali, Laura N Anderson, Sharon Smile, Yang Chen, Cornelia M Borkhoff, Christine Koroshegyi, Gerald Lebovic, Patricia C Parkin, Catherine S Birken, Peter Szatmari and Jonathon L Maguire; on behalf of the TARGet Kids! Collaboration in Autism</p

Fit for School Study protocol: early child growth, health behaviours, nutrition, cardiometabolic risk and developmental determinants of a child’s school readiness, a prospective cohort

Introduction School readiness is a multidimensional construct that includes cognitive, behavioural and emotional aspects of a child’s development. School readiness is strongly associated with a child’s future school success and well-being. The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a reliable and valid teacher-completed tool for assessing school readiness in children at kindergarten age. A substantial knowledge gap exists in understanding how early child growth, health behaviours, nutrition, cardiometabolic risk and development impact school readiness. The primary objective was to determine if growth patterns, measured by body mass index trajectories in healthy children aged 0–5 years, are associated with school readiness at ages 4–6 years (kindergarten age). Secondary objectives were to determine if other health trajectories, including health behaviours, nutrition, cardiometabolic risk and development, are associated with school readiness at ages 4–6 years. This paper presents the Fit for School Study protocol. Methods and analysis This is an ongoing prospective cohort study. Parents of children enrolled in the The Applied Health Research Group for Kids (TARGet Kids!) practice-based research network are invited to participate in the Fit for School Study. Child growth, health behaviours, nutrition, cardiometabolic risk and development data are collected annually at health supervision visits and linked to EDI data collected by schools. The primary and secondary analyses will use a two-stage process: (1) latent class growth models will be used to first determine trajectory groups, and (2) generalised linear mixed models will be used to examine the relationship between exposures and EDI results. Ethics and dissemination The research ethics boards at The Hospital for Sick Children, Unity Health Toronto and McMaster University approved this study, and research ethics approval was obtained from each school board with a student participating in the study. The findings will be presented locally, nationally and internationally and will be published in peer-reviewed journals.</p

Reliability of routinely collected anthropometric measurements in primary care

Background Measuring body mass index (BMI) has been proposed as a method of screening for preventive primary care and population surveillance of childhood obesity. However, the accuracy of routinely collected measurements has been questioned. The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability of height, length and weight measurements collected during well-child visits in primary care relative to trained research personnel. Methods A cross-sectional study of measurement reliability was conducted in community pediatric and family medicine primary care practices. Each participating child, ages 0 to 18 years, was measured four consecutive times; twice by a primary care team member (e.g. nurses, practice personnel) and twice by a trained research assistant. Inter- and intra-observer reliability was calculated using the technical error of measurement (TEM), relative TEM (%TEM), and a coefficient of reliability (R). Results Six trained research assistants and 16 primary care team members performed measurements in three practices. All %TEM values for intra-observer reliability of length, height, and weight were classified as ‘acceptable’ ( 99% for both intra- and inter-observer reliability. Length measurements in children Conclusion There was agreement between routine measurements and research measurements although there were some differences in length measurement reliability between practice staff and research assistants. These results provide justification for using routinely collected data from selected primary care practices for secondary purposes such as BMI population surveillance and research.</p

The Association between Early Childhood and Later Childhood Sugar-Containing Beverage Intake: A Prospective Cohort Study

Sugar-containing beverages (SCBs) are a major source of sugar intake in children. Early life intake of SCBs may be a strong predictor of SCB intake later in life. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate if SCB intake (defined as 100% fruit juice, soda, and sweetened drinks) in early childhood (≤2.5 years of age) was associated with SCB intake in later childhood (5-9 years of age). A prospective cohort study was conducted using data from the TARGet Kids! primary care practice network (n = 999). Typical daily SCB intake was measured by parent-completed questionnaires. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using logistic regression. A total of 43% of children consumed ≥0.5 cups/day of SCBs at ≤2.5 years and this increased to 64% by 5-9 years. Daily SCB intake, compared to no daily intake, at ≤2.5 years was significantly associated with SCB intake at 5-9 years (adjusted OR: 4.03; 95% CI: 2.92-5.55) and this association was much stronger for soda/sweetened drinks (adjusted OR: 12.83; 95% CI: 4.98, 33.0) than 100% fruit juice (OR: 3.61; 95% CI: 2.63-4.95). Other early life risk factors for SCB intake at 5-9 years were presence of older siblings, low household income, and shorter breastfeeding duration. Daily intake of SCBs in early childhood was strongly associated with greater SCB intake in later childhood. Early life may be an important period to target for population prevention strategies. </p