External Publications Using GUI Data
Authors | Year | Title | Link | Journal/Book ↑ | Abstract |
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Masukume, G., O'Neill, S.M., Baker, P.N., Kenny, L.C., Morton, S.M.B., Khashan, A.S. | 2018 | The impact of caesarean section on the risk of childhood overweight and obesity: new evidence from a contemporary cohort study | Open | Scientific Reports | |
Caesarean section (CS) rates are increasing globally and exceed 50% in some countries. Childhood obesity has been linked to CS via lack of exposure to vaginal microflora although the literature is inconsistent. We investigated the association between CS birth and the risk of childhood obesity using the nationally representative Growing-Up-in-Ireland (GUI) cohort. The GUI study recruited randomly 11134 infants. The exposure was categorised into normal vaginal birth (VD) [reference], assisted VD, elective (planned) CS and emergency (unplanned) CS. The primary outcome measure was obesity defined according to the International Obesity Taskforce criteria. Statistical analysis included multinomial logistic regression with adjustment for potential confounders. Infants delivered by elective CS had an adjusted relative risk ratio (aRRR) = 1.32; [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01–1.74] of being obese at age three years. This association was attenuated when macrosomic children were excluded (aRRR = 0.99; [95% CI 0.67–1.45]). Infants delivered by emergency CS had an increased risk of obesity aRRR = 1.56; [95% CI 1.20–2.03]; this association remained after excluding macrosomic children. We found insufficient evidence to support a causal relationship between elective CS and childhood obesity. An increased risk of obesity in children born by emergency CS, but not elective, suggests that there is no causal effect due to vaginal microflora. | |||||
Okolikj, M., Girard, L. | 2023 | Psychological Antecedents of Political Outcomes: Joint Developmental Trajectories of Mental Health Difficulties | Open | SocArXiv Papers | |
Little is known about the link between childhood and adolescent mental health (MH) difficulties and political outcomes in adulthood. This represents an important knowledge gap in understanding early individual-level factors for future political outcomes. Using the Growing up in Ireland cohort, following 8,568 children from nine to 20 years, we examine how different MH difficulties, and co-occurrence, are associated with various political outcomes. The results show childhood/adolescent MH difficulties are important predictors of political outcomes at age 20. Adolescents with chronic co-occurring MH difficulties starting in childhood report a lower interest in politics, lower trust in politicians, are less likely to register to vote, and if voting, are more likely to vote for an anti-establishment party. Adolescents with chronic emotional MH difficulties starting in childhood report a higher likelihood of voting for an anti-establishment party, but also show a higher probability of political activism and low external political efficacy. | |||||
Rubio Cabañez, M. | 2023 | Stratifying Cities: The Effect of Outdoor Areas on Children's Well-Being | Open | SocArXiv Papers | |
This study examines how the presence of outdoor areas such as parks and playgrounds affects children’s well-being and how this effect is moderated by families’ socioeconomic status. Specifically, I aim to answer two research questions. First, does the presence of outdoor areas in children’s neighborhoods affect their well-being? Second, is there a differential effect depending on children’s socioeconomic status? The main part of the study uses data from the International Survey of Children’s Well-Being. The results suggest that the presence of outdoor areas in children’s neighborhoods has a positive effect on their well-being. In addition, the estimated effect of outdoor areas is larger for children from families with low socioeconomic status. Finally, findings from the Growing Up in Ireland data set suggest that children’s mental problems are a plausible mechanism through which outdoor areas affect children’s well-being. These findings have meaningful policy implications. Efforts to provide access to appropriate outdoor areas may be more likely to benefit disadvantaged children and thus reduce inequality in children’s well-being. | |||||
Driscoll, D., Kiely, E., O’Keeffe, L.M., Khashan, A.S. | 2024 | Household energy poverty and trajectories of emotional and behavioural difficulties in children and adolescents: findings from two prospective cohort studies | Open | Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology | |
Purpose Methods Results Conclusions | |||||
Layte, R., McCrory, C. | 2012 | Paediatric chronic illness and educational failure: the role of emotional and behavioural problems | Open | Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology | |
Background Methods Results Conclusions | |||||
Khalaf, S.Y., O'Neill, S.M., O'Keeffe, L.M., Henriksen, T.B., Kenny, L., Cryan, J.F., Khashan, A.S. | 2015 | The impact of obstetric mode of delivery on childhood behaviour | Open | Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology | |
Purpose Methods Results Conclusions | |||||
Brannigan, R., Cronin, F., McEvoy, O., Stanistreet, D., Layte, R. | 2022 | Verification of the Goldilocks Hypothesis: the association between screen use, digital media and psychiatric symptoms in the Growing Up in Ireland study | Open | Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology | |
Aims Methods Results Conclusions | |||||
Butler, E., Clarke, M., Spirtos, M., O Keeffe, L.M., Dooley, N. | 2024 | Pregnancy complications and childhood mental health: is the association modified by sex or adverse social circumstances? Findings from the ‘growing up in Ireland’ national infant cohort study | Open | Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology | |
Specific pregnancy complications, socioeconomic position and sex have all been independently associated with child mental health outcomes, but their combined effects remain unclear. We examined whether total number of complications experienced in the pregnancy associated with mental health at 5 and 9-years, and whether this varied by sex or adverse social circumstances. Pregnancy complications were self-reported at 9-months post-natally from a list of 16 complications. Parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) when their child was 5 and 9-years. The primary outcome was the SDQ-total and scoring in the clinical range (> 16) was a secondary outcome. We applied generalized linear mixed models to a large nationally representative Irish cohort (GUI; n = 11,134). Analyses were adjusted for sex, adverse social circumstances (at 9-months), and gestational smoking. We included an interaction term between pregnancy complications and each variable respectively in separate models to examine if associations varied by sex or adverse circumstances. After controlling for covariates, total complications associated with mental health at 5 and 9-years. Each additional pregnancy complication conferred a 10% higher total-SDQ score (exponentiated co-efficient 1.10 [95%CI 1.06–1.14], 1.20 [1.15–1.26], 1.20 [1.12–1.29] and 1.34 [1.21–1.48] for 1, 2, 3 and 4 + complications respectively). For the dichotomised outcome, generally increasing odds for clinical levels of mental health difficulties were observed (OR 1complication = 1.89, 95%CI [1.37–2.59]; OR 2complications = 2.31, 95%CI [1.53–3.50]; OR 3complications = 1.77, 95%CI [0.89–3.52]; OR 4 + complications = 6.88, 95%CI [3.29–14.40]). Females had significantly lower odds of exhibiting clinically significant mental health difficulties than males (OR = 0.43, 95%CI[0.32–0.57]). There was no evidence that the association between pregnancy complications and child’s mental health varied by sex or social circumstances at 5 or 9-years. Males exposed to numerous pregnancy complications in the context of adverse social circumstances had the highest predicted probability of having mental health difficulties in middle childhood. | |||||
McCrory, C., Layte, R. | 2011 | The effect of breastfeeding on children’s educational test scores at nine years of age: Results of an Irish cohort study. | Open | Social Science & Medicine | |
This retrospective cross-sectional paper examines the relationship between early breastfeeding exposure and children’s academic test scores at nine years of age independent of a wide range of possible confounders. The final sample comprised 8226 nine-year-old school children participating in the first wave of the Growing Up in Ireland study. The children were selected through the Irish national school system using a 2-stage sampling method and were representative of the nine-year population. Information relating to breastfeeding initiation and exposure duration was obtained retrospectively at nine years of age via parental recall and children’s academic performance was assessed using standardised reading and mathematics tests. Hierarchical linear regression analysis with robust standard errors to control for clustering at the school level was used to quantify the effect of breastfeeding on children’s test scores. Propensity score matching was used to compare treatment effects across groups defined by their propensity to breastfeed. In unadjusted analysis, children who were breastfed scored 8.67 percentage points higher on reading and 7.42 percentage points higher on mathematics compared to those who were never breastfed. While the breastfeeding advantage attenuated appreciably when adjusted for a range of child, maternal, socio-economic and socio-environmental characteristics, children who were breastfed continued to enjoy a significant test score advantage of 3.24 (p < 0.001) and 2.23 (p < 0.001) percentage points on reading and mathematics respectively compared to those who were never breastfed. Any amount of breastfeeding was associated with significantly higher test scores than no exposure, but evidence of a dose-response relationship was weak. The results of the propensity score matching analysis indicated that the test score advantage of breastfed children is robust and that the magnitude of the effect varies across groups defined by their propensity to breastfeed, being largest amongst the most socially disadvantaged and falling to near zero among the most advantaged group. | |||||
McDonnell, T., Doyle, O. | 2019 | Maternal employment and childcare during infancy and childhood overweight | Open | Social Science & Medicine | |
Objective Method Results Conclusions | |||||
Briody, J. | 2021 | Parental unemployment during the Great Recession and childhood adiposity | Open | Social Science & Medicine | |
The incidence of adiposity in the early years of life has outgrown the prevalence in older children and adolescents globally; however, the factors influencing weight gain are predominantly studied in adults. This study examines the relationship between changing economic conditions during the Irish recession and child weight in a nationally representative sample of 10,011 Irish children studied at 9 months, 3 years and 5 years old. This study is the first to use longitudinal anthropometric measurements to estimate the impact of direct parental unemployment on children’s weight. Fixed effect logistic regression is used to examine the effects of parental unemployment on weight using the Growing up in Ireland infant cohort from 2008 to 2013. Weight and length/height measured by trained interviewers and child growth charts are used to quantify children’s weight status according to BMI-for-age and weight-for-age measures. For BMI-for-age, the probability of a child being classified as overweight/obese is 8 percentage points higher if either parent experiences unemployment. A sensitivity analysis of weight-for-age indicates that the probability is of similar magnitude across several alternative growth charts and definitions of adiposity (the WHO standard, British Growth Reference, and Centers for Disease Control). The analysis is repeated, cross-sectionally, for physical activity and diet to clarify mechanisms of effect. The probability of a child consuming healthy food and physical activity with an implied cost is lower if either parent becomes unemployed. A focus on overweight/obesity in the early years is of crucial importance as if current trends are not addressed, a generation of children may grow up with a higher level of chronic disease. | |||||
McCrory, C., Layte, R. | 2012 | Breastfeeding and risk of overweight and obesity at nine-years of age. | Open | Social Science and Medicine | |
Whether breastfeeding is protective against the development of childhood overweight and obesity remains the subject of considerable debate. Although a number of meta-analyses and syntheses of the literature have concluded that the greater preponderance of evidence indicates that breastfeeding reduces the risk of obesity, these findings are by no means conclusive. The present study used data from the Growing Up in Ireland study to examine the relationship between retrospectively recalled breastfeeding data and contemporaneously measured weight status for 7798 children at nine-years of age controlling for a wide range of variables including; socio-demographic factors, the child’s own lifestyle-related behaviours, and parental BMI. The results of the multivariable analysis indicated that being breastfed for between 13 and 25 weeks was associated with a 38 percent (p < 0.05) reduction in the risk of obesity at nine-years of age, while being breastfed for 26 weeks or more was associated with a 51 percent (p < 0.01) reduction in the risk of obesity at nine-years of age. Moreover, results pointed towards a dose–response patterning in the data for those breastfed in excess of 4 weeks. Possible mechanisms conveying this health benefit include slower patterns of growth among breastfed children, which it is believed, are largely attributable to differences in the composition of human breast milk compared with synthesised formula. The suggestion that the choice of infant feeding method has important implications for health and development is tantalising as it identifies a modifiable health behaviour that is amenable to intervention in primary health care settings and has the potential to improve the health of the population. | |||||
Mohan, G. | 2021 | The influence of caregiver's migration status on child's use of healthcare services: evidence from Ireland | Open | Sociology of Health and Illness | |
Large-scale international migration continues apace. From a health-care services perspective, it is important to understand the influence of migrant heritage on utilization, to allocate resources appropriately and facilitate equity. However, the differences in utilization across different migrant groups remain poorly understood, particularly so for paediatric populations. This paper contributes to filling this gap in knowledge, examining the health-care contact of children for whom their primary caregiver is foreign-born, using longitudinal data from two nationally representative surveys. The study setting is Ireland, which provides an interesting case as a small, open European country, which for the first-time experienced net inward migration in the past two decades. For both cohorts, panel regression models, adjusting for socioeconomic and health indicators, demonstrated lower utilization of general practitioner (GP) services for children of caregivers from ‘less-advanced, non-Anglosphere, non-European Union (EU)’ nations, relative to native-born counterparts. Relatively lower attendances at Emergency Departments and hospital nights were also observed for this group, as well as for children born to EU (non-UK) caregivers. The insights provided are instructive for policymakers for which immigration is a substantial phenomenon in current and future population demographics. | |||||
Sohun, R., McPhail, A., MacDonncha, C. | 2020 | Physical activity parenting practices in Ireland: a qualitative analysis | Open | Sport, Education and Society | |
Worldwide, children do not meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity (PA) and a unified approach is required to increase children’s engagement in PA. Parents, are increasingly regarded as playing a key role in children’s PA behaviours. Physical activity parenting (PAP) is growing as a research field and refers to parental behaviours intended to influence children’s investment in PA. Using the perspectives of both parent and child, this research aims to identify PAP practices (positive and negative) engaged by Irish parents and to examine how PAP is embedded within a socioecological context. A purposive sample of 116 families in Ireland were included in the study. Families were stratified by social class, location, and family structure. Parents and children were interviewed and a secondary analysis of the interview data was completed. A theoretical model and conceptual framework relating to PAP guided data analysis to identify and understand parenting practices that influence children’s PA behaviour. Data was deductively analysed and key findings indicated that PAP practices of encouragement, involvement, and facilitation were positively associated with children’s engagement in structured sport activities. Co-participation was positively associated with children’s participation in unstructured PA. Mothers and fathers differed in their PA roles, with fathers engaged to a greater extent in involvement parental practices. Children from middle and higher socio-economic class families participated in a greater repertoire of structured PA and benefited from a greater diversity of PAP practices. Family context (social class, structure, size), community resources and organisational factors mediated the presence of PAP practices. Parents’ PA attributes and parents perceptions of PA attributes were less important influencers. Successful and effective engagement of parents in PA interventions is dependent on consideration of the various social contexts that are embedded in families. Keywords | |||||
McEvoy, O., Cronin, F., Brannigan, R., Stanistreet, D., Layte, R. | 2022 | The role of family, school and neighbourhood in explaining inequalities in physical activity trajectories between age 9 and 18 | Open | SSM - Population Health | |
Differentials in physical activity (PA) between social and economic groups has been shown to contribute significantly to social gradients in health and life expectancy, yet relatively little is known about why differentials in PA emerge. This paper uses longitudinal data on a nationally representative sample of 6,216 young people aged between 9 and 18, from Ireland, to measure the role of family, school and neighbourhood level factors in accounting for differentials in PA trajectories between groups of young people, defined by level of maternal education, whilst adjusting for the individual characteristics of the young person (sex, age, personality, body mass index and health-status). Levels of PA fall significantly across the sample between 9 and 18, and the decline in PA is larger for the children of lower educated mothers. We find a clear gradient in PA at each age by maternal education for both males and females. Descriptive analyses found social gradients in the majority of our risk factors. Using multi-level, linear spline regression models to decompose differentials between groups, we find that family-level mechanisms account for the biggest proportion of the differential in PA for both males (50.8%) and females (35.1%). Differences in income across maternal education categories accounted for 24.1% of the differential for males and 14.7% among females, making it the second most effective mechanism in explaining the social patterning of PA. Neighbourhood-level processes resulted in a modest reduction in the same differential, while school level processes had the effect of equalising differences in PA across maternal education groups. | |||||
McEvoy, O., Cronin, F., Brannigan, R., Stanistreet, D., Layte, R. | 2022 | The role of family, school and neighbourhood in explaining inequalities in physical activity trajectories between age 9 and 18 | Open | SSM - Population Health | |
Differentials in physical activity (PA) between social and economic groups has been shown to contribute significantly to social gradients in health and life expectancy, yet relatively little is known about why differentials in PA emerge. This paper uses longitudinal data on a nationally representative sample of 6,216 young people aged between 9 and 18, from Ireland, to measure the role of family, school and neighbourhood level factors in accounting for differentials in PA trajectories between groups of young people, defined by level of maternal education, whilst adjusting for the individual characteristics of the young person (sex, age, personality, body mass index and health-status). Levels of PA fall significantly across the sample between 9 and 18, and the decline in PA is larger for the children of lower educated mothers. We find a clear gradient in PA at each age by maternal education for both males and females. Descriptive analyses found social gradients in the majority of our risk factors. Using multi-level, linear spline regression models to decompose differentials between groups, we find that family-level mechanisms account for the biggest proportion of the differential in PA for both males (50.8%) and females (35.1%). Differences in income across maternal education categories accounted for 24.1% of the differential for males and 14.7% among females, making it the second most effective mechanism in explaining the social patterning of PA. Neighbourhood-level processes resulted in a modest reduction in the same differential, while school level processes had the effect of equalising differences in PA across maternal education groups. | |||||
McMahon, G., Creaven, A., Gallagher, S. | 2020 | Stressful life events and adolescent well-being: the role of parent and peer relationships | Open | Stress & Health | |
It is well established that stressful life events (e.g., family bereavements or moving to a new country) are damaging to psychological health and well-being. Indeed, social relationships are often noted as an important factor that can influence well-being and buffer the negative effects of stress. However, the quality and source of these relationships, particularly for adolescents, are often overlooked. Using the Growing Up in Ireland Survey, a population-based study of 13-year-old Irish adolescents (N = 7,525; 51.1% female), the current study examines the quality of both parent and peer relationships as potential mechanisms explaining the association between stressful life events and psychological well-being indices in adolescents. As expected, results showed that stressful life events negatively impacted the psychological well-being of adolescents. Parallel mediation analyses indicated that both parent and peer relationship quality mediated this association. Further exploratory analyses found that for girls, greater numbers of stressful life events were associated with poorer quality relationships with both their parents and peers, and in turn, these were linked to lower levels of psychological well-being. For boys, this effect was only evident for parental relationship quality, but not peers. The implication of these findings for adolescent’s psychological well-being, particularly for girls, is discussed. | |||||
Quail, A., Smyth, E. | 2014 | Multigrade teaching and age composition of the class: The influence on academic and social outcomes among students. | Open | Teaching and Teacher Education | |
Heinen, M., Murrin, C., Daly, L., et al. | 2014 | The Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) in the Republic of Ireland: Findings from 2008, 2010 and 2012 | Open | The Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) | |
The prevalence of obesity in children is rapidly rising, leading to many serious consequences worldwide. In 2005, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Europe issued recommendations and guidelines for regular collection of data on weight, height, and waist and hip circumference in children worldwide in order to monitor prevalence trends of growth, overweight and obesity. The Department of Health and the Health Service Executive commissioned the National Nutrition Surveillance Centre, based at the School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Population Science in University College Dublin, to carry out this surveillance work in the Republic of Ireland. This report presents the findings from three waves of the WHO Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative survey in the Republic of Ireland in 2008, 2010 and 2012. In 2008, 163 randomly selected primary schools participated in this project and in the first round the protocol as set out by the WHO for participating countries was followed. The target age was children aged exactly 7 years. In the subsequent two waves, the same WHO protocol was followed and the same schools were contacted again and this time, as well as 7-year-olds, 9-year-olds were also selected for participation in the second round. In the third round, 7-year, 9-year, as well as 11-year-olds were included. This means that there are three cross-sectional surveys of 7-year-old children, two cross-sectional surveys of 9-year-olds and one cross-sectional comparison group of 7-, 9- and 11-year-old children. Using a unique identifier there are also two cohort groups of the same children followed on two separate occasions from ages 7 to 9 and ages 9 to 11, respectively. In this report, we also compare the data on 9-year-old children to the findings from the Growing Up in Ireland Cohort study. | |||||
Gillespie, P., Walsh, S., Cullinan, J., Devane, D. | 2019 | An analysis of antenatal care pathways to mode of birth in Ireland | Open | The Economic and Social Review | |
This paper explores the role of antenatal care in determining mode of birth in the Irish healthcare system using data from the Growing Up in Ireland study. Results indicate that midwifery-led antenatal care is independently associated with significantly higher rates of normal delivery and significantly lower rates of elective caesarean section relative to consultant-led care in both the public and private sectors. Given concerns over increasing rates of caesarean section, our results are consistent with calls nationally and internationally for further investment in midwifery-led antenatal care services, and for stricter regulation of the actors, both providers and patients, engaged in the private antenatal care pathway. |