Breastfeeding and intelligence.
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Breast Feeding↗
Biomedical subjects
C Callanan
Publications and source records attributed to C Callanan.
Very low birth weight and growth to age 8 years. I: Weight and height.
We determined the heights and weights at ages 2, 5, and 8 years for the following three cohorts of children: group 1 with birth weights between 500 and 999 g; group 2 with birth weights between 1000 and 1499 g; and group 3 with birth weights more than 2500 g. By age 8 years, group 3 children were significantly heavier and taller than all children in groups 1 and 2 combined; group 1 children were significantly shorter than those in group 2, but their weights were similar. From ages 2 to 5 years, annual increments in weight and height were similar in all three groups; however, between ages 5 and 8 years, children in group 3 grew faster than those in groups 1 and 2 combined, and children in group 1 had smaller height increments than those in group 2. Of children with birth weights less than 1500 g, with a weight or height under the 10th percentile at age 2 years, only approximately one half were still below the 10th percentile for the corresponding measurement at age 8 years. Health variables determined before birth, such as maternal height or birth weight ratio, were more important than health after birth in predicting a height or weight below the 10th percentile at age 8 years in children with birth weights less than 1500 g.
Body Height↗
Very low birth weight and growth to age 8 years. II: Head dimensions and intelligence.
The occipitofrontal circumference was measured in all available children in the following cohorts at ages 2, 5, and 8 years: group 1, consisting of 79 children with birth weight between 500 and 999 g; group 2, with 111 children with birth weight between 1000 and 1499 g; and group 3 with 56 children with birth weight greater than 2500 g; all were white with no signs of moderate or severe cerebral palsy. National Center for Health Statistics reference values indicated substantially more children with an occipitofrontal circumference lower than the 10th percentile, particularly at age 2 years, compared with Nellhaus reference data. Occipitofrontal circumference was the head measurement best correlated with the Full Scale IQ on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. Dolichocephaly, often seen in very-low-birth-weight children was unrelated to IQ, and correction of occipitofrontal circumference for dolichocephaly was rarely of clinical importance.
Analysis of Variance↗
Respiratory health and lung function in 8-year-old children of very low birth weight: a cohort study.
In comparison with a cohort of normal birth weight children, those of very low birth weight (less than 1501 g birth weight) had more wheezing illnesses and hospital readmissions for respiratory problems in the first 2 years of life; from 2 years to 8 years of age respiratory health was unrelated to birth weight. Lung function measurements at 8 years of age in very low birth weight children were similar to expected values; few children had severely abnormal lung function. On univariate analyses, forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expired volume in 1 second (FEV1), but not flow rates, were lower in children who had survived bronchopulmonary dysplasia. However, the univariate analyses were misleading, because bronchopulmonary dysplasia occurred more frequently with lower birth weight, and lower birth weight in turn was strongly related to reduced FVC and FEV1. After adjusting for birth weight and other potential confounding variables, FVC and FEV1 were unrelated to bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and to neonatal ventilation. Flow rates were largely uninfluenced by perinatal events, but were reduced in children with asthma or recurrent bronchitis at 8 years of age. Passive smoking was unrelated to lung function at 8 years of age. However, the effects of passive or active smoking, or perinatal events, on respiratory function or health beyond 8 years of age in very low birth weight survivors remain to be determined.
Birth Weight↗
Changing two-year outcome of infants weighing 500 to 999 grams at birth: a hospital study.
Survival and neurodevelopmental outcome to 2 years were determined for two cohorts of infants weighing 500 to 999 gm at birth, born in a tertiary maternity hospital. Live births increased over time from an annual average of 48.7 in the first era (January 1977 to March 1982) to 64.6 in the second era (January 1985 to December 1987), largely from referrals of additional mothers with pregnancy complications. In the first era, 33.6% (86/256) of infants survived to 2 years; the survival rate improved significantly to 45.9% (89/194) in era 2. After adjustment for birth weight, the odds ratio for survival in era 2 versus era 1 was 1.39 (95% confidence interval = 1.12, 1.73; p less than 0.01). One known survivor in each era was not seen at 2 years of age. In the first era, 59.3% (51/86) of 2-year-old children were free of disability compared with 68.5% (61/89) in era 2 (NS), but the Mental Development Index of the Bayley Scales improved significantly, from 90.0 in era 1 to 98.0 in era 2. For infants weighing less than 800 gm at birth, not only did the 2-year survival rate improve, adjusted for birth weight (odds ratio = 1.53; 95% confidence interval = 1.06, 2.20; p less than 0.05), but there was also a significant reduction in neurologic disabilities in survivors (p = 0.03). For infants weighing 800 to 999 gm at birth, there was a significant improvement in the survival rate, adjusted for birth weight (odds ratio = 1.37; 95% confidence interval = 1.04, 1.79; p less than 0.05), but the rate of neurologic disabilities was unchanged. Increased survival in our tertiary maternity center was achieved without increasing the annual number of severely disabled 2-year-old survivors.
Child, Preschool↗
Outcome to 8 years of infants less than 1000 g birthweight: relationship with neonatal ventilator and oxygen therapy.
The study involved a cohort of 59 consecutive survivors with birthweights less than 1000 g, born between 1977 and 1980, to 8 years of age. The aim of the report was to determine if those survivors who had received more oxygen and ventilator therapy differed in their outcome compared with those who had received less oxygen and ventilation. Children were graded into four groups, characterized by decreasing durations of oxygen and ventilation. Children who had received less oxygen and ventilation were more likely to be below the third percentile for weight at 2, 5 and 8 years but the trends were significant only at 2 and 5 years (P = 0.006, P = 0.013 and P = 0.19 respectively). The rate of cerebral palsy was 8% at 8 years; the only children with severe or moderate disabilities from their cerebral palsy were in the lowest oxygen and ventilation group (n = 4, P less than 0.02). The frequency of hospital re-admission and the duration of re-hospitalization did not vary significantly between the four groups at any age. The rates of recurrent wheezing episodes or asthma did not vary significantly between the groups. Although the cohort as a whole had some impairment of lung function compared with healthy full-term controls, there was no significant difference between the four groups. Contrary to expectations, our findings suggest lower rates of poor growth and adverse neurological outcomes with increasing durations of oxygen and ventilation in the newborn period.
Birth Weight↗
Survivors of extreme prematurity--outcome at 8 years of age.
Of 149 infants liveborn in a large maternity hospital in 1980 to 1982 and delivered between 24 and 29 completed weeks of gestation inclusive, 91 (61%) survived; 88 (97%) survivors were assessed at 8 years' corrected age; 77% of children were not disabled; disability was mild in 13%, moderate in 2% and severe in 4% of children. Although survival decreased with decreasing gestation, disability in survivors did not increase. An earlier assessment of the same children at approximately 2 years of age had been unduly pessimistic particularly for those born less than or equal to 26 weeks' gestation. The only other reports in the literature on outcome by gestation have all assessed the children in early childhood, and estimates of severe disability rates from these studies will probably also be too pessimistic. Since the rate of severe disabilities in infants of borderline viability is not much higher than in more mature infants the obstetrician should mainly consider survival chances for the fetus, and not be overly concerned with long-term neurological outcome, when making clinical decisions.
Australia↗
Urban/rural and gender differentials in suicide rates: east and west.
BACKGROUND: Many epidemiological studies indicate suicide rates are higher for males than females and for urban than rural. Here we re-examine gender, urban and rural differentials in suicide in Australia and Beijing (China). More specifically, to test the two hypotheses (i) that the male to female ratio is larger than one; (ii) that the urban suicide rate is higher than the rural in both places. METHODS: Suicide data with information of gender, rural and urban regions for Australia and Beijing (China) for the period of 1991-1996 were used. Ratios between the gender-specific urban and rural suicides rates with the associated confidence intervals were constructed to examine gender, urban and rural differentials in Australia and Beijing. RESULTS: The rural suicide rate in Beijing for both genders was higher than for their urban counterparts. Further, the elderly had the highest suicide rate followed by women aged 20-29. Also, the male to female ratio in China was less than one. In Australia, the rural male suicide rate was higher than the urban whereas the urban female suicide rate was higher than the rural. The male to female ratio was 4 to 1. The differences in rural to urban and male to female ratios between Australia and Beijing are statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to the west, male suicide rates are not higher than female rates in China. Urban rates are not necessarily higher than rural rates --not even in a western setting. Cultural factors and regional differences in socio-economic situation are significant in explaining the low gender ratio and the relatively higher suicide rates in rural China. LIMITATIONS: The suicide rate in the Beijing region might not exactly reflect the same for the whole of China.
Adolescent↗