External Publications Using GUI Data
Authors | Year | Title ↑ | Link | Journal/Book | Abstract |
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Gallagher, A.L., Galvin, R., Robinson, K., Murphy, CA., Conway, P., Perry, A. | 2020 | The characteristics, life circumstances and self-concept of 13 year olds with and without disabilities in Ireland: A secondary analysis of the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study | Open | PLOS ONE | |
Background Methods Results Forty nine percent of children with developmental disabilities were not receiving support in school as reported by parents. Discrepancies in the nature of support received were identified across disability types. Adjusting for individual and school level factors, a disability diagnosis was associated with increased odds of low self-concept scores on three of five self-concept domains. Further associations were identified which differed across disability type. Conclusions | |||||
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. | |||||
Martin, R., Murphy, J., Molina-Soberanes, D., Murtagh, E.M. | 2022 | The clustering of physical activity and screen time behaviours in early childhood and impact on future health-related behaviours: a longitudinal analysis of children aged 3 to 8 years | Open | BMC Public Health | |
Background Methods Results Conclusions | |||||
Maitre, B., Russell, H., Smyth, E. | 2014 | The dynamics of child poverty in Ireland: Evidence from the Growing Up in Ireland survey | Open | ESRI Research Series 121 | |
Madden, D. | 2022 | The Dynamics of Multidimensional Poverty in a Cohort of Irish Children | Open | Clinical Indicators Research | |
This paper examines multidimensional poverty for three waves of a cohort of Irish children ranging from ages 9 to 17. Poverty is measured over the dimensions of health, education and family resources and both unidimensional and multidimensional poverty is examined. Both show a clear gradient with respect to maternal education. The dynamics of both unidimensional and multidimensional poverty are also analysed. The greatest degree of mobility is observed with respect to family resources. Mobility also is higher for children whose mothers have lower levels of education, with net movements into rather than out of poverty. | |||||
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. | |||||
McCrory C., Murray, A. | 2013 | The effect of breastfeeding on neuro-development in infancy. | Open | Maternal and Child Health Journal | |
The present study examines whether breastfeeding is associated with neuro-developmental advantages at 9 months of age on a standardised measure of infant development in a large cohort study of Irish children. It is hypothesised that if breast-milk confers an independent benefit, infants who were never breastfed will have reached fewer developmental milestones than those who were partially or exclusively breastfed, after controlling for putative confounding variables. Families with infants aged 9-months were recruited as part of a nationally representative sample for the birth cohort of the Growing Up in Ireland study (n = 11,134). Information was collected from mothers on breastfeeding practices, socio-demographic characteristics and developmental progress during a household interview. Parent-report items on development covered communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving and personal-social skills. Analysis of pass/fail status in each developmental domain using binary logistic regression showed a positive effect of any breastfeeding on gross motor, fine motor, problem solving and personal-social skills (but not communication) and these remained after adjustment for a range of confounding variables. There was, however, little evidence of a dose–response effect or advantage of exclusive over partial breastfeeding. A clear advantage of breastfeeding on infant development was demonstrated. However, the lack of a dose–response association on pass rates suggests that the breastfeeding effect may be confounded by other unobserved factors or that there is a critical threshold during which time the effect of breast milk may be particularly salient for bolstering brain development. | |||||
Smyth, E., Murray, A. | 2022 | The Effect of Pandemic-Related Economic Disruption on Young Adolescents in Ireland | Open | Children | |
The sudden health and economic crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic affords an opportunity to examine the impact of economic disruption to children and families. Any negative effects on the well-being of children are important to consider in relation to both short- and long-term outcomes. Using pre-pandemic and mid-pandemic waves of the longitudinal Growing Up in Ireland study, we examined whether the impact of economic disruption was equivalent for families who were (or were not) financially vulnerable pre-pandemic. We then investigated whether economic disruption was associated with a negative effect on the emotional well-being of 12-year-olds, and if there was evidence for such a negative effect being mediated through a lack of material resources or strain on family dynamics. Our results indicated that middle-income rather than lowest-income families experienced the most economic disruption, likely reflecting the sector-specific nature of business closures in the pandemic. Families who were financially vulnerable pre-pandemic were less likely to have had suitable resources for homeschooling. Both falls in income and strain in family relationships, such as arguing more with their parents, were associated with poorer scores on a measure of the child’s emotional well-being. The emergency income support payment introduced at the start of the pandemic appeared to have a protective effect on the association between family income loss and child well-being, which has wider implications for policy on child poverty. Keywords | |||||
McCrory, C., McNally, S. | 2012 | The effect of pregnancy intention on maternal prenatal behaviours and parent and child health: results of an Irish cohort study. | Open | Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology | |
Background Methods Results Conclusions | |||||
Cadogan, S.L., Keane, E., Kearney, P.M. | 2014 | The effects of individual, family and environmental factors on physical activity levels in children: a cross-sectional study | Open | BioMed Central | |
Background Methods Results Conclusions | |||||
McCoy, S., Quail, A., Smyth, E. | 2014 | The Effects of School Social Mix: Unpacking the Differences | Open | Irish Educational Studies | |
Whether school composition makes a difference for student outcomes has been the subject of much controversy. This article draws on Growing Up in Ireland data, a rich source of information on nine-year-old children along with the characteristics of their school and classroom teacher. In contrast to many studies which rely on a single measure of social background, the use of a range of measures (including social class, parental education and income) allows us to provide precise estimates of differences in performance between schools designated as disadvantaged and other schools. The analyses also provide new insights into the processes underlying such differences. Only the most disadvantaged schools, those in Urban Band 1, are found to have a contextual effect for both reading and mathematics. This achievement gap is found to reflect differences in teacher experience and turnover, the concentration of additional learning needs, absenteeism levels and children’s engagement in school. Keywords | |||||
Darmody, M., McGinnity, F., Kingston, G. | 2016 | The Experiences of Migrant Children in Ireland | Open | Cherishing All the Children Equally? Children in Ireland 100 Years on from the Easter Rising | |
None of the many critical moments in Ireland’s often tumultuous history was more significant or defining than the Easter Rising of 1916. Central to the Rising was the Proclamation of Independence, in which Pádraig Pearse declared the new nation’s resolve to cherish all its children equally. CHERISHING ALL THE CHILDREN EQUALLY? brings together contributions from a range of disciplines to shed light on the processes of child development and to investigate how that development is influenced by a variety of demographic, family and socio-economic factors. Making extensive use of research and data that have emerged over recent years from the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal study of children, the book considers whether or not all children can participate fully and equitably in contemporary Irish society. It asks whether or not we do, in fact, cherish all our children equally in modern Ireland, regardless of their family circumstances, health or ethnic background. TABLES OF CONTENTS:
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Butler, M.I., Bastiaanssen, T.F.S., Long-Smith, C.M., et al. | 2023 | The gut microbiome in social anxiety disorder: evidence of altered composition and function | Open | Translational Psychiatry | |
The microbiome-gut-brain axis plays a role in anxiety, the stress response and social development, and is of growing interest in neuropsychiatric conditions. The gut microbiota shows compositional alterations in a variety of psychiatric disorders including depression, generalised anxiety disorder (GAD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia but studies investigating the gut microbiome in social anxiety disorder (SAD) are very limited. Using whole-genome shotgun analysis of 49 faecal samples (31 cases and 18 sex- and age-matched controls), we analysed compositional and functional differences in the gut microbiome of patients with SAD in comparison to healthy controls. Overall microbiota composition, as measured by beta-diversity, was found to be different between the SAD and control groups and several taxonomic differences were seen at a genus- and species-level. The relative abundance of the genera Anaeromassillibacillus and Gordonibacter were elevated in SAD, while Parasuterella was enriched in healthy controls. At a species-level, Anaeromassilibacillus sp An250 was found to be more abundant in SAD patients while Parasutterella excrementihominis was higher in controls. No differences were seen in alpha diversity. In relation to functional differences, the gut metabolic module ‘aspartate degradation I’ was elevated in SAD patients. In conclusion, the gut microbiome of patients with SAD differs in composition and function to that of healthy controls. Larger, longitudinal studies are warranted to validate these preliminary results and explore the clinical implications of these microbiome changes. | |||||
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. | |||||
Mohan, G. | 2022 | The impact of household energy poverty on the mental health of parents of young children | Open | Journal of Public Health | |
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 | |||||
Mohan, G., Nolan, A. | 2020 | The impact of prescription drug co-payments for publicly insured families | Open | The European Journal of Health Economics | |
Co-payments for prescription drugs are a common feature of many healthcare systems, although often with exemptions for vulnerable population groups. International evidence demonstrates that cost-sharing for medicines may delay necessary care, increase use of other forms of healthcare and result in poorer health outcomes. Existing studies concentrate on adults and older people, particularly in the US, with relatively less attention afforded to paediatric and European populations. In Ireland, prescription drug co-payments were introduced for the first time for medical cardholders (i.e. those with public health insurance) in October 2010, initially at a cost of €0.50 per item, rising to €1.50 in January 2013, and further increasing to €2.50 in December 2013. Using data from the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal study of children, and a difference-in-difference research design, we estimate the impact of the introduction (and increase) of these co-payments on health, healthcare utilisation and household financial wellbeing. The introduction of modest co-payments on prescription items was not estimated to impinge on the health of children and parents from low-income families. For the younger Infant Cohort, difference-in-difference estimates indicated that the introduction (and increase) in co-payments was associated with a decrease in GP visits and hospital nights, and a decrease in the proportion of households reporting ‘difficulties with making ends meet’. In contrast, for the older cohort of children (the Child Cohort), co-payments were associated with an increase in GP visiting, and an increase in household deprivation. While the parallel trends assumption for difference-in-difference analysis appeared to be satisfied, further investigation revealed that there were other time-varying observable factors (such as exposure to the economic recession over the period) that affected the treatment and control groups, as well as the two cohorts of children differentially, that may partly explain these divergent results. For example, while the analysis suggests that the introduction of the €0.50 co-payment in 2010 was associated with an increase in the probability of treated families in the Child Cohort being deprived by 9.4 percentage points, the proportion of treated families experiencing unemployment and reductions in household income also increased significantly around the time of the co-payment introduction. This highlights the difficulty in identifying the effect of the co-payment policy in an environment in which assignment to the treatment (i.e. medical cardholder status) was not randomly assigned. | |||||
Smyth, E., Darmody, M., Devine, D. | 2024 | The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the wellbeing of migrant young people in Ireland | Open | Educational Review | |
The world-wide COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted education, with school closures leading to a shift to remote learning. Existing and emerging research has shown that even a relatively short period of missed school has negative consequences for academic and social outcomes among children and young people, especially for those from more vulnerable families. While emerging research drawing on cross-sectional data has focussed on how the pandemic has affected immigrant youth, there is a paucity of longitudinal studies in this field. In this paper, we used the longitudinal Growing Up in Ireland study to investigate and analyse the wellbeing of migrant-origin 12-year-olds in Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our research shows that compared to their Irish peers, immigrant adolescents had poorer wellbeing, partly related to differences in family support for remote learning, in experiences of poor-quality interaction with peers and in levels of family strain. | |||||
Smyth, E., Darmody, M., Devine, D. | 2024 | The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the wellbeing of migrant young people in Ireland | Open | Educational Review | |
The world-wide COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted education, with school closures leading to a shift to remote learning. Existing and emerging research has shown that even a relatively short period of missed school has negative consequences for academic and social outcomes among children and young people, especially for those from more vulnerable families. While emerging research drawing on cross-sectional data has focussed on how the pandemic has affected immigrant youth, there is a paucity of longitudinal studies in this field. In this paper, we used the longitudinal Growing Up in Ireland study to investigate and analyse the wellbeing of migrant-origin 12-year-olds in Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our research shows that compared to their Irish peers, immigrant adolescents had poorer wellbeing, partly related to differences in family support for remote learning, in experiences of poor-quality interaction with peers and in levels of family strain. | |||||
Garcia, JM., Healy, S., Rice, D. | 2016 | The Individual, Social, and Environmental Correlates of Physical Activity and Screen Time in Irish Children: Growing Up in Ireland Study | Open | Journal of Physical Activity and Health | |
Background Methods Results Conclusion |