Adherence to a healthy and potentially sustainable Nordic diet is associated with child development in The Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa)

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Clinical Features of Children With Autism Who Passed 18-Month Screening

We examine birth-cohort trends behind recent changes in the prevalence of functional disability in the older population living in private households in the United Kingdom (UK). By using three different socio-economic indicators available in the nationally representative cross-sectional data on older individuals interviewed between 2002 and 2012 in the Family Resource Survey (FRS) (96,733 respondents), we investigate the extent to which the overall trends have been more favourable among more advantaged than disadvantaged socioeconomic groups. Compared to the cohort of people born in 1924, successive cohorts of older men have lower odds of having at least one functional difficulty (FD), whereas no significant trend was found for women. Among people with at least one FD, however, the number of disabilities increases for each successive cohort of older women (incidence rate ratio 1.027, 95% confidence interval 1.023 to 1.031, P<0.001) and men (incidence rate ratio 1.028, 95% confidence interval 1.024 to 1.033, P<0.001). By allowing interactions between birth cohort and SES indicators, a significant increasing cohort trend in the number of reported FDs was found among older men and women at lower SES, whereas an almost stable pattern was observed at high SES. Our results suggest that the overall slightly increasing birth-cohort trend in functional difficulties observed among current cohorts of older people in the UK hides underlying increases among low SES individuals and a relative small reduction among high SES individuals. Further studies are needed to understand the causes of such trends and to propose appropriate interventions. However, if the SES differentials in trends in FDs observed in the past continue, this could have important implications for the future costs of the public system of care and support for people with care needs

Clinical Features of Children With Autism Who Passed 18-Month Screening

OBJECTIVES: We compared sex-stratified developmental and temperamental profiles at 18 months in children screening negative for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) on the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) but later receiving diagnoses of ASD (false-negative group) versus those without later ASD diagnoses (true-negative group). METHODS: We included 68 197 screen-negative cases from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (49.1% girls). Children were screened by using the 6 critical items of the M-CHAT at 18 months. Groups were compared on domains of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire and the Emotionality Activity Sociability Temperament Survey. RESULTS: Despite passing M-CHAT screening at 18 months, children in the false-negative group exhibited delays in social, communication, and motor skills compared with the true-negative group. Differences were more pronounced in girls. However, with regard to shyness, boys in the false-negative group were rated as more shy than their true-negative counterparts, but girls in the false-negative group were rated as less shy than their counterparts in the true-negative group. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to reveal that children who pass M-CHAT screening at 18 months and are later diagnosed with ASD exhibit delays in core social and communication areas as well as fine motor skills at 18 months. Differences appeared to be more pronounced in girls. With these findings, we underscore the need to enhance the understanding of early markers of ASD in boys and girls, as well as factors affecting parental report on early delays and abnormalities, to improve the sensitivity of screening instruments. </jats:sec

Parental input patterns and transmission of high-status heritage languages: English and German as heritage languages in Norway

This study examines the mother-reported language practice in bilingual English/German-Norwegian, two-parent families in Norway, and explores the effects of (1) parental input patterns, (2) parental gender, and (3) status of the heritage languages (HL), on success of HL transmission and on children’s language use with siblings when the children were age five. Using mother-reported questionnaire data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa; a national birth cohort in Norway), we collected information about the languages spoken by the children and the home language use of 204 English-Norwegian and 99 German-Norwegian families. The success rate of HL transmission was reported to be 79.9% in English-Norwegian families, and 72.2% in German-Norwegian families. However, less than half of the bilingual children interacted in HL with their siblings. Different parental input patterns were found to have different effects on HL transmission and on children’s HL use with siblings. Additional HL input from the Norwegian parent seemed not only to promote HL transmission, but also increase the probability of children’s HL use with siblings. Mothers being the HL user was associated with higher rates of HL transmission and higher rates of children’s HL use with siblings

Piloting the use of a short observation list for ASD-symptoms in day-care: Challenges and further possibilities

Early symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) develop through the second year of life, making a stable ASD diagnosis possible around 24 months of age. However, in general, children with ASD are diagnosed later. In this study we explored the use of a short observation list to detect symptoms associated with ASD in children 12–24 months of age attending typical day-care centers. The results indicate that a short observation list used by day-care teachers does not reveal sufficient properties to be independently used in young children in day-care centers. Further studies should explore multiple and repeated measures for early detection of symptoms associated with ASD in typical day-care centers

Changes in the frequency and characteristics of children diagnosed with autistic disorder in two Norwegian cohorts: 1992 and 2009

Background:Is the increasing prevalence of autistic disorder (AD) a well-documented trend or merely a reflection of the wider recognition of AD among both the public at large and health care professionals? Data from relevant studies are frequently compromised by comparisons of different sites and different diagnostic methods.Objectives:To explore changes over time, we reviewed the following: 1) the frequency of AD diagnoses; 2) the characteristics of the diagnosed children; and 3) the ages of the children when initial concerns were addressed and AD diagnoses made.Method:We compared the case records of children between the ages of 1 and 17 years who were residing in Nordland County, Norway, and who were diagnosed with AD during two different data collection periods: 1992 (Cohort 1) and 2009 (Cohort 2).Results:In Cohort 1, 28 children were diagnosed with AD; 71 children in Cohort 2 received AD diagnoses. The increase was greatest among children with intelligence quotient (IQ) values of at least 70. The proportion of children with genetic syndromes was around 20% in both cohorts. Median age at AD diagnosis did not differ between the two cohorts (4.5 vs. 5.0 years, respectively). When the two cohorts were combined, children with IQ values of 70 or more without a genetic syndrome and those with IQ values of less than 50 with genetic syndromes were diagnosed at approximately the same age (5.5 and 5.3 years, respectively). Both groups were significantly older at diagnosis as compared with children with IQ values of less than 50 without genetic syndromes (3.5 years).Conclusions:The increase in the number of children diagnosed with AD is consistent with findings from international studies. Contrary to predictions, the age at diagnosis was not reduced over time. A higher proportion of children with IQ values in the average range in the latter cohort may have contributed to this. A delayed diagnosis of AD among children with genetic syndromes may indicate that early autism symptoms are attributed to the genetic condition. Clinical implications are discussed