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Andy Ness

Publications and source records attributed to Andy Ness.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Sun-safety behaviors of skiers and snowboarders on the South Island of New Zealand.

AIMS: To study sun-protective behaviors among skiers and snowboarders on the South Island of New Zealand and to identify associations with personal characteristics or weather conditions. METHODS: Two hundred twenty-six skiers and snowboarders completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire during September and October 2002. Reported behaviors were used to derive a composite sun-protection index, which was used to divide the sample into "protected" and "unprotected" groups. Odds ratios of being unprotected were calculated by logistic regression. RESULTS: Forty-eight percent (95% CI 42-54%) of interviewees recalled being sunburned while skiing or snowboarding in the past. Sixty-eight percent (95% CI 62-74%) were unaware of any educational messages specific to sun protection while skiing or snowboarding. Women were more likely to be protected from the sun (OR 0.47; 95% CI 0.27-0.81). Having a skin type resistant to burning (OR 1.93; 95% CI 0.92-4.06) and reported awareness of education messages (OR 1.66; 95% CI 0.92-2.99) were associated with not using sun protection. CONCLUSIONS: Sunburn is common and sun protection not used by all. Men are less likely to report use of sun-protection measures. There is no evidence from this study that current strategies are effective in promoting skin protection while skiing or snowboarding.

Health Behavior↗
PubMed2006

Dietary energy intake at the age of 4 months predicts postnatal weight gain and childhood body mass index.

OBJECTIVE: Rapid infant weight gain has been shown to predict later obesity risk; however, it is unclear which factors influence infant diet and weight gain. The objective of this study was to determine whether different feeding patterns and energy intakes that are provided to infants affect body weight and BMI later in childhood. METHODS: This representative birth cohort study was conducted in the United Kingdom. Energy intake at age 4 months was estimated from 1-day unweighed dietary records in 881 infants and related to their childhood weight gain and BMI. RESULTS: Among formula- or mixed-fed infants (N = 582), energy intake was higher in first-born infants (mean +/- SE: 2730 +/- 29.4 kJ/day; n = 263) than in subsequent-born infants (2620.8 +/- 25.2 kJ/day; n = 296). Energy intake at 4 months was also higher in infants who were given solid foods earlier (1-2 months: 2805.6 +/- 50.4 kJ/day, n = 89; 2-3 months: 2658.6 +/- 25.2 kJ/day, n = 339; 4+ months: 2587.2 +/- 46.2 kJ/day, n = 111). Higher energy intake at 4 months predicted greater weight gain between birth to age 1, 2, or 3 years and larger body weight and BMI at ages 1 to 5 years. No significant associations were seen in breastfed infants (N = 299). CONCLUSIONS: Among formula- or mixed-fed infants, dietary energy intake at age 4 months predicted postnatal weight gain and childhood obesity risk. Both prenatal and postnatal factors may influence infant energy intake and postnatal weight gain.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed2006

Sex-discordant associations with adiponectin levels and lipid profiles in children.

In adults, lower circulating levels of the adipocyte-derived hormone adiponectin are associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease risks. Its use as a risk marker in children is less clear. In 839 children aged 8 years from a representative birth cohort, circulating adiponectin levels were associated with body weight, BMI, waist circumference, and fasting and 30-min insulin levels, but the associations were opposite in boys, with positive associations, and girls, with inverse associations (P = 0.008-0.00001 for interaction with sex). Girls had overall higher adiponectin, higher total cholesterol, lower HDL cholesterol, and higher triglyceride levels than boys, even after adjustment for BMI. With increasing BMI, girls showed steeper declines in HDL cholesterol (P = 0.01 for interaction) and adiponectin levels (P = 0.0005 for interaction) and a steeper increase in triglyceride levels (P = 0.009 for interaction) compared with boys. In conclusion, plasma adiponectin is not a simple marker of central fat and insulin sensitivity in children. With increasing BMI, decreasing adiponectin levels in girls could contribute to their faster deterioration in lipid profiles in comparison with boys. Our data suggest a complex age- and sex-related regulation of adiponectin secretion or clearance.

Adiponectin↗
PubMed2005

Social position affects bone mass in childhood through opposing actions on height and weight.

UNLABELLED: We studied relationships between social position of the mother in pregnancy and bone mass of the child at age 9.9 years. The tendency for social position to increase bone area and bone mass through a positive influence on height was opposed by a negative effect of social position on weight and fat mass. INTRODUCTION: Evidence that social factors influence skeletal growth raises the possibility that bone mass acquisition in childhood is socially determined. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To clarify the role of social factors in bone mass acquisition in childhood, we studied relationships between these variables in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Measures of the mother's social position during pregnancy were linked to DXA results obtained at age 9.9 years in 6,702 children. Linear regression analyses were carried out after adjusting for age and gender. Because social position may affect height and weight of the child, analyses were repeated after adjusting for these additional variables. RESULTS: Measures of social position in pregnancy were unrelated to total body BMC in analyses adjusted for age and gender alone. However, after adjusting for height, which was positively related to social position, a strong negative association was observed between BMC and housing tenure (p < 0.001), maternal education (p < 0.001), paternal education (p < 0.001), and social class (p < 0.001). Similar results were obtained for bone area. After adjusting for weight as well as height, an association between social position and BMC and bone area was no longer observed. Hence, social position seems to exert opposing height- and weight-dependent effects on BMC and bone area in childhood. In further analyses, we found that adjusting for fat mass of the child led to similar results to those obtained with weight. CONCLUSIONS: Social position in childhood seems to be positively related to bone mass acquisition in childhood as a consequence of enhanced gain in height (i.e., longitudinal growth). However, this influence is counteracted by the tendency for increased fat deposition in those from a lower social position to increase bone area, presumably reflecting the stimulation of appositional bone growth.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗
PubMed2005

The prevalence of symptoms and consultations in pre-school children in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC): a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Pre-school children are frequent users of health services, but little contemporary data are available describing their symptoms or why they consult. OBJECTIVE: To describe symptom and consultation prevalence in pre-school children and to identify the socio-demographic factor or factors associated with consultations for those symptoms. METHODS: Prospective cohort study of 13,617 pre-school children living in south-west England. Parents completed questionnaires asking about symptoms and consultations for those symptoms at six, 18, 30, 42 and 57 months. RESULTS: During the pre-school years, all children experienced one or more symptoms, most commonly cold, cough, high temperature, vomiting or diarrhoea. Ninety seven percent consulted a doctor at least once, most commonly for cough, high fever and/or earache. Lower parity was most strongly and consistently associated with higher consultation rates. CONCLUSIONS: Fever, respiratory and gastro-intestinal symptoms are a normal part of pre-school life. Research of acute conditions in young children could focus on the most common symptoms leading to consultation, namely cough, fever and earache. Efforts to support parents' help seeking decision making might usefully be targeted at first time parents.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed2005

Endothelial dysfunction in childhood infection.

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis begins in early life, and endothelial dysfunction is recognized as a key initiating event in the development of atherosclerosis. Although infection has been implicated in endothelial dysfunction and atherogenesis, the impact of acute common childhood infections on the vascular endothelium is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied 600 children aged 10 years drawn from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. The children were divided into 3 groups: those with current acute infection (AI; n=135; 73 boys and 62 girls); a convalescent group with infection in the past 2 weeks (n=166; 78 boys and 88 girls), and a healthy control group (n=299; 131 boys and 168 girls). Endothelial function was determined in all subjects by high-resolution ultrasound to measure brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and was expressed as the percentage change in diameter from baseline after reactive hyperemia. FMD was repeated in 40 children in the AI group and 50 in the control group after a mean interval of 1 year. FMD was lower in both the AI group (6.3+/-2.7%, mean+/-SD) and the convalescent group (8.1+/-3.1%) than in the control group (9.7+/-2.5%; P<0.001 for both). The observed differences in FMD remained after adjustment for potential confounding variables. At the repeat visit, FMD was unchanged in controls (P=0.85) but improved in the AI group (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Acute infection in childhood is associated with impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation. These findings support a potential role for previously unsuspected extrinsic inflammatory stimuli in the pathogenesis of early atherosclerosis.

Arteriosclerosis↗
PubMed2005

Milk consumption, stroke, and heart attack risk: evidence from the Caerphilly cohort of older men.

OBJECTIVE: To examine associations between milk consumption and incident heart disease and stroke. DESIGN: A representative population sample of men was asked to weigh and record their food intake for seven days. The total consumption of milk was obtained from these records. Details of all deaths and vascular events were collected during the following 20 years. Incident ischaemic strokes and heart disease events were diagnosed by standard criteria. SETTING: The Caerphilly cohort, a representative population sample of men in South Wales, aged 45-59 when first seen in 1979-83. PARTICIPANTS: A representative 3:10 subsample of the men in the cohort. MAIN RESULTS: 665 men (87% of those approached) returned satisfactory seven day diet diaries. After adjustment, the relative odds of an event in the men whose milk consumption was the median or higher, relative to those with lower intakes of milk, were 0.52 (0.27 to 0.99) for an ischaemic stroke and 0.88 (0.56 to 1.40) for an ischaemic heart disease event. Deaths from all causes were similar in the two milk consumption groups (relative odds 1.08; 0.74 to 1.58). CONCLUSIONS: These results give no convincing evidence of an increased risk of vascular disease from milk drinking. Rather, the subjects who drank more than the median amount of milk had a reduced risk of an ischaemic stroke, and possibly a reduced risk of an ischaemic heart disease event. These conclusions are in agreement with the results of a previously reported overview of 10 large, long term cohort studies based on food frequency intake records.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Maternal diet in pregnancy and offspring height, sitting height, and leg length.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between maternal diet in pregnancy and offspring height, sitting height, and leg length. DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: South west England. PARTICIPANTS: 6663 singletons (51% male) enrolled in the Avon longitudinal study of parents and children, with information on their mother's diet in late pregnancy (obtained by food frequency questionnaire) and their own height recorded at age 7.5 years. MAIN RESULTS: Before adjustment, maternal magnesium, iron, and vitamin C were the nutrients most consistently associated with offspring height and its components. However, adjusting for potential confounders weakened all relations considerably. For example, a standard deviation (SD) increase in magnesium intake was associated with a 0.10 (-0.07, 0.14) SD unit increase in height before adjustment, which was reduced to 0.05 (0.01, 0.08) SD units after adjustment, and a SD unit increase in iron intake was associated with 0.08 (0.05, 0.12) and 0.04 (0.01, 0.08) SD unit increases in height before and after adjustment respectively. No other dietary variables were associated with height or its components after adjustment. CONCLUSIONS: These findings do not provide evidence that maternal diet in pregnancy has an important influence on offspring height, sitting height, or leg length in well nourished populations, although effects may emerge as offspring become older.

Anthropometry↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Smoking during pregnancy and components of stature in offspring.

The objective of this study was to examine the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring height and its components. The analysis was based on 6,340 white singletons born in 1991-1992 and enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), who had maternal smoking data recorded for at least one trimester in pregnancy, and who had their height recorded at age 7.5. Smoking at any time in pregnancy was associated with a reduction in offspring height, trunk, and leg length, and the leg-to-trunk ratio, after adjustment for age and sex. After additional adjustment for maternal factors, social factors, and breastfeeding, associations with leg length and leg-to-trunk ratio remained, with reductions of 0.25 cm (95% confidence interval, 0.05-0.46 cm) in leg length and 0.30% (95% confidence interval, 0.03-0.57%) in leg-to-trunk ratio if the mother smoked. Findings were similar when the smoking data were analyzed separately for each trimester. Furthermore, in each trimester, the more a mother smoked, the greater the reduction in offspring height, leg length, and leg-to-trunk ratio. These dose-response relationships remained after adjustment for all potential confounders for leg length and leg-to-trunk ratio. Smoking at any time in pregnancy reduces offspring height and its components, and in particular leg length and leg-to-trunk ratio at age 7.5.

Adult↗