| 1. |
- Khalife, Natasha, et al.
(author)
-
Childhood Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms Are Risk Factors for Obesity and Physical Inactivity in Adolescence
- 2014
-
In: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0890-8567 .- 1527-5418. ; 53:4, s. 425-436
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: To prospectively investigate the association and directionality between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and obesity from childhood to adolescence in the general population. We examined whether obesogenic behaviors, namely, physical inactivity and binge eating, underlie the potential ADHD symptom obesity association. We explored whether childhood conduct disorder (CD) symptoms are related to adolescent obesity/physical inactivity. Method: At 7 to 8 years (n = 8,106), teachers reported ADHD and CD symptoms, and parents reported body mass index (BMI) and physically active play. At 16 years (n = 6,934), parents reported ADHD symptoms; adolescents reported physical activity (transformed to metabolic equivalent of task [MET] hours per week) and binge eating; BMI and waist hip ratio (WHR) were measured via clinical examination. Obesity was defined using the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cut-offs for BMI and the 95th percentile cut-off for WHR. Results: Childhood ADHD symptoms significantly predicted adolescent obesity, rather than the opposite. Inattention-hyperactivity symptoms at 8 years were associated with indices of obesity at 16 years (obese BMI: odds ratio [OR] = 1.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.10-3.33; 95th percentile WHR: OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.05-2.78), adjusted for gender, baseline BMI, physical activity, family structure change, and maternal education. Child CD symptoms associated with indices of adolescent obesity. Reduced physically active play in childhood predicted adolescent inattention (OR = 1.61,95% CI = 1.16-2.24). Childhood ADHD and CD symptoms were linked with physical inactivity in adolescence (inattention-hyperactivity; OR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.20-2.13), but not binge eating. Physical inactivity mediated the associations. Conclusions: Children with ADHD or CD symptoms are at increased risk for becoming obese and physically inactive adolescents. Physical activity may be beneficial for both behavior problems and obesity.
|
|
| 2. |
- Khalife, Natasha, et al.
(author)
-
Placental Size Is Associated with Mental Health in Children and Adolescents
- 2012
-
In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 7:7, s. Art. no. e40534-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The role of the placenta in fetal programming has been recognized as a highly significant, yet often neglected area of study. We investigated placental size in relation to psychopathology, in particular attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, in children at 8 years of age, and later as adolescents at 16 years. Methodology/Principal Findings: Prospective data were obtained from The Northern Finland Birth Cohort (NFBC) 1986. Placental weight, surface area and birth weight were measured according to standard procedures, within 30 minutes after birth. ADHD symptoms, probable psychiatric disturbance, antisocial disorder and neurotic disorder were assessed at 8 years (n = 8101), and ADHD symptoms were assessed again at 16 years (n = 6607), by teachers and parents respectively. We used logistic regression analyses to investigate the association between placental size and mental health outcomes, and controlled for gestational age, birth weight, socio-demographic factors and medical factors, during gestation. There were significant positive associations between placental size (weight, surface area and placental-to-birth-weight ratio) and mental health problems in boys at 8 and 16 years of age. Increased placental weight was linked with overall probable psychiatric disturbance (at 8y, OR = 1.14 [95% CI = 1.04-1.25]), antisocial behavior (at 8 y, OR = 1.14 [95% CI = 1.03-1.27]) and ADHD symptoms (inattention-hyperactivity at 16y, OR = 1.19 [95% CI = 1.02-1.38]). No significant associations were detected among girls. Conclusions/Significance: Compensatory placental growth may occur in response to prenatal insults. Such overgrowth may affect fetal development, including brain development, and ultimately contribute to psychopathology.
|
|
| 3. |
- Khalife, Natasha, et al.
(author)
-
Prenatal Glucocorticoid Treatment and Later Mental Health in Children and Adolescents
- 2013
-
In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 8:11, s. Art. no. e81394-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Animal studies demonstrate a clear link between prenatal exposure to glucocorticoids (GC) and altered offspring brain development. We aim to examine whether prenatal GC exposure programs long-term mental health in humans. Methods: Using propensity-score-matching, children prenatally exposed to synthetic glucocorticoids (sGC), n=37, and controls, n=185, were balanced on important confounders related to sGC treatment - gestational age and pre-pregnancy BMI. We also used mixed-effects modeling to analyse the entire cohort - matching each sGC case, n=37, to all possible controls, n=6079, on gestational age and sex. We obtained data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 at four waves - pregnancy, birth, 8 and 16 years. Data on pregnancy and birth outcomes came from medical records. Mental health was assessed at 8 years by teachers with the Rutter B2 scale, and at 16 years by parents with the Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD symptoms and Normal behavior (SWAN) scale and adolescents by the Youth Self-Report (YSR) scale. Results: Prenatal sGC treatment was consistently associated with adverse mental health in childhood and adolescence, as shown by both the propensity-score method and mixed-effects model. Using the propensity-score-matched subsample, linear multiple regression showed prenatal sGC was significantly linked with general psychiatric disturbance (B=8.34 [95% CI: .23-16.45]) and inattention (B=.97 [95% CI:. 16-1.80]) at 8 years after control for relevant confounders. Similar findings were obtained at 16 years, but did not reach statistical significance. Mediation by birthweight/placental weight was not detected. Conclusions: This study is the first to prospectively investigate the long-term associations between prenatal exposure to sGC treatment and mental health in children and adolescents. We report an association between prenatal exposure to sGC and child mental health, supportive of the idea that sGC has a programming effect on the fetal brain.
|
|
