Overweight and School Performance Among Primary School Children: The PIAMA Birth Cohort Study

The aim of this study was to assess the association between overweight and school performance among primary school children prospectively and including a broad range of potential confounding factors. In addition it was investigated what factors mediate this association. For this purpose, data of 2,159 12-year-old children who participated in the Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy (PIAMA) birth cohort study were used. Two indicators of school performance were parental reported when children were 12 years of age and included (i): the score on a standardized achievement test that Dutch children have to complete at the end of their primary education (Cito)-test and (ii): the teacher's advice regarding a child's potential performance level in secondary education. Children's height and weight were measured by a trained research assistant at the age of 8 and by their parents at the age of 12. Overweight was defined using age and gender specific cut-off points. Multivariate regression analyses were performed to assess the association between overweight and school performance. Besides, both confounder and mediation analyses were conducted. Results showed lower Cito-test scores and lower teacher's school-level advice among overweight children. These associations were no longer significant when adjusting for parental educational level, skipping breakfast, and screen time. This study found no independent association between overweight and school performance among primary school children. Results showed strong confounding by parental educational leve

Predicting the risk of newborn children to become overweight later in childhood: the PIAMA birth cohort study

Objective. To develop a decision rule by which children with a high risk to develop overweight can be distinguished at birth from children at low risk. Design, setting and participants. Data of 1 687 Dutch children born in 1996/1997 who participated in the Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy (PIAMA) longitudinal birth cohort study were analysed. Perinatal candidate predictors of overweight at 8 years of age were selected and a prediction model was developed using stepwise model selection based on the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). The prediction model was internally validated using resampling techniques. Outcome measure. Overweight at the age of 8 years. Results. A total of 13.9% (n = 253) of the children were overweight at 8 years of age. Independent positive predictors of overweight were paternal and maternal body mass index, female gender, smoking in the parental house, birth weight and hospital delivery. From the model, a decision rule was derived by which an overweight score could be calculated. Of the children with an overweight score below 89.45, only 2.7% were overweight at the age of 8, whereas in children with an overweight score above 105.02 the prevalence of overweight was 35.4%. Conclusion. The risk of overweight at the age of 8 years can be predicted with six characteristics that are available at birth. The decision rule developed in this study may help to target early preventive measures against overweight in high-risk childre

Predicting the risk of newborn children to become overweight later in childhood: the PIAMA birth cohort study

Objective. To develop a decision rule by which children with a high risk to develop overweight can be distinguished at birth from children at low risk. Design, setting and participants. Data of 1 687 Dutch children born in 1996/1997 who participated in the Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy (PIAMA) longitudinal birth cohort study were analysed. Perinatal candidate predictors of overweight at 8 years of age were selected and a prediction model was developed using stepwise model selection based on the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). The prediction model was internally validated using resampling techniques. Outcome measure. Overweight at the age of 8 years. Results. A total of 13.9% (n = 253) of the children were overweight at 8 years of age. Independent positive predictors of overweight were paternal and maternal body mass index, female gender, smoking in the parental house, birth weight and hospital delivery. From the model, a decision rule was derived by which an overweight score could be calculated. Of the children with an overweight score below 89.45, only 2.7% were overweight at the age of 8, whereas in children with an overweight score above 105.02 the prevalence of overweight was 35.4%. Conclusion. The risk of overweight at the age of 8 years can be predicted with six characteristics that are available at birth. The decision rule developed in this study may help to target early preventive measures against overweight in high-risk childre

Serum micronutrient concentrations and childhood asthma: the PIAMA birth cohort study

Background: Research suggests an influence of micronutrients on childhood asthma. So far, evidence mainly originates from cross-sectional studies using nutrient intake data, which is not an accurate measure of nutrient status. This study aimed to investigate the cross-sectional and prospective associations between serum concentrations of magnesium, vitamin D, selenium, and zinc and prevalence of (severe) asthma, atopy, and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) in childhood. Methods: In the Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy birth cohort study, serum nutrient concentrations were available for a 4-yr-old subgroup (n = 372) and for a different 8-yr-old subgroup (n = 328). Yearly questionnaires inquired about asthma prevalence until 8 yr of age. Allergic sensitization was measured at 4 and 8 yr of age; BHR was measured at 8 yr of age. Data were analyzed with logistic regression and generalized estimating equations models. Results: There was a consistent (non-significant) inverse association between serum magnesium concentrations and asthma prevalence. Serum vitamin D concentrations measured at age 4 were inversely associated with asthma at ages 4–8 [e.g., cross-sectional association between vitamin D tertile 3 vs. 1 and severe asthma: odds ratio (OR): 0.49, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.25–0.95], whereas vitamin D measured at age 8 was positively associated with asthma at age 8 (e.g., cross-sectional association between vitamin D tertile 3 vs. 1 and severe asthma: OR: 2.14, 95% CI: 0.67–6.82). Conclusions: Our study contributes to the evidence that children with higher serum magnesium concentrations are less likely to have asthma. The associations between serum vitamin D concentrations and asthma were age-dependen

EVALUATION RESEARCH AND POLITICAL SCIENCE: AN ARGUMENT AGAINST THE DIVISION OF SCHOLARLY LABOR

Political science might have been the birthplace of evaluation research, but it has instead been unreceptive to it for a number of reasons. Hofferbert's suggestion that political scientists become involved by studying the impact of policy on democratic processes does not take into account the ferment that has been taking place in the field of evaluation. Political scientists should not conduct evaluation studies using the same methodology they normally use because these may not produce the kind of information needed for improving policies or programs. A disciplinary division of labor is impractical for a number of reasons. Instead, they should use a policy sciences framework, which contains normative elements and focuses on potentials for change, among other things. Copyright 1986 by The Policy Studies Organization.

Errores numéricos: ¿Cómo afectan a las personas con ansiedad matemática?

¿Cómo responde el cerebro de una persona con ansiedad a las matemáticas? Nuestro estudio muestra que los estudiantes con mucha ansiedad hacia las matemáticas presentan un componente llamado negatividad asociada al error (NAE) de mayor tamaño que aquellos con poca ansiedad. Esta diferencia emerge en errores en tareas numéricas, lo que sugiere que las personas con alta ansiedad son hipersensibles a la comisión de estos errores. Este hallazgo aporta nuevo conocimiento sobre las bases cerebrales de la ansiedad hacia las matemáticas y sugiere que esta hipersensibilidad al error numérico podría ser un factor determinante tanto en el origen como en el mantenimiento de esta ansiedad

Knowledge-Based Jobs and the Boundaries of Firms Agent-based Simulation of Firms Learning and Workforce Skill Set Dynamics

The article explores emergence and survival of human resource management strategies and organisational types in a knowledge-based job market. The analysis considers a dynamic environment in which skill requirements change rapidly. We built an agent-based model to simulate a market where firms post job offers to fill vacancies and decide how to select and reward employees; employees, bearing skills, select firms comparing job offers. Taking an evolutionary approach, we explore how hiring strategies, which guarantee survival, emerge from interconnected variation, selection and retention processes. The simulation experiments suggest that, as the rate of change of the environment increases, long-term employment and firm-specific knowledge building emerge as the survival strategy