Ben Edwards

Time-Use Patterns and Health-Related Quality of Life in Adolescents

In this cross-sectional study of 1455 11- to 12-year-olds, we examined the association between 24-hour time-use patterns and HRQoL. OBJECTIVES: To describe 24-hour time-use patterns and their association with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in early adolescence. METHODS: The Child Health CheckPoint was a cross-sectional study nested between Waves 6 and 7 of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. The participants were 1455 11- to 12-year-olds (39% of Wave 6; 51% boys). The exposure was 24-hour time use measured across 259 activities using the Multimedia Activity Recall for Children and Adolescents. “Average” days were generated from 1 school and 1 nonschool day. Time-use clusters were derived from cluster analysis with compositional inputs. The outcomes were self-reported HRQoL (Physical and Psychosocial Health [PedsQL] summary scores; Child Health Utility 9D [CHU9D] health utility). RESULTS: Four time-use clusters emerged: “studious actives” (22%; highest school-related time, low screen time), “techno-actives” (33%; highest physical activity, lowest school-related time), “stay home screenies” (23%; highest screen time, lowest passive transport), and “potterers” (21%; low physical activity). Linear regression models, adjusted for a priori confounders, showed that compared with the healthiest “studious actives” (mean [SD]: CHU9D 0.84 [0.14], PedsQL physical 86.8 [10.8], PedsQL psychosocial 79.9 [12.6]), HRQoL in “potterers” was 0.2 to 0.5 SDs lower (mean differences [95% confidence interval]: CHU9D −0.03 [−0.05 to −0.00], PedsQL physical −5.5 [−7.4 to −3.5], PedsQL psychosocial −5.8 [−8.0 to −3.5]). CONCLUSIONS: Discrete time-use patterns exist in Australian young adolescents. The cluster characterized by low physical activity and moderate screen time was associated with the lowest HRQoL. Whether this pattern translates into precursors of noncommunicable diseases remains to be determined.

Cohort Profile: Building a New Life in Australia (BNLA): the longitudinal study of humanitarian migrants

Core funding for the project is provided by the Department of Social Services from April 2014; from 2012 to March 2014, funding was provided by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship

Socioeconomic Position Is Associated With Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Mid-Childhood: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children.

Background Lower socioeconomic position (SEP) predicts higher cardiovascular risk in adults. Few studies differentiate between neighborhood and family SEP or have repeated measures through childhood, which would inform understanding of potential mechanisms and the timing of interventions. We investigated whether neighborhood and family SEP, measured biennially from ages 0 to 1 year onward, was associated with carotid intima–media thickness (IMT) at ages 11 to 12 years. Methods and Results Data were obtained from 1477 families participating in the Child Health CheckPoint study, nested within the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Disadvantaged family and neighborhood SEP was cross‐sectionally associated with thicker maximum carotid IMT in separate univariable linear regression models. Associations with family SEP were not attenuated in multivariable analyses, and associations with neighborhood SEP were attenuated only in models adjusted for family SEP. The difference in maximum carotid IMT between the highest and lowest family SEP quartile measured at ages 10 to 11 years was 10.7 μm (95% CI, 3.4–18.0; P=0.004), adjusted for age, sex, pubertal status, passive smoking exposure, body mass index, blood pressure, and arterial lumen diameter. In longitudinal analyses, family SEP measured as early as age 2 to 3 years was associated with maximum carotid IMT at ages 11 to 12 years (difference between highest and lowest quartile: 8.5 μm; 95% CI, 1.3–15.8; P=0.02). No associations were observed between SEP and mean carotid IMT. Conclusions We report a robust association between lower SEP in early childhood and carotid IMT in mid‐childhood. Further investigation of mechanisms may inform pediatric cardiovascular risk assessment and prevention strategies.

The intergenerational consequences of war: anxiety, depression, suicidality, and mental health among the children of war veterans

Background The long-term effects of military deployment on the mental health of war veterans have been investigated extensively, but few studies have examined the long-term impact of parental deployment on childrens mental health. Methods Using a retrospective, multigenerational survey and propensity score analysis to adjust for selection effects and endogeneity bias, we investigated the impact of parental deployment on the mental health of the adult children of Australian veterans of the Vietnam War. We analysed data from 1966 adult men (35%) and women (65%) whose fathers (N = 1418) were selected at random from the population of surviving men who served in the Australian army during the Vietnam War (1962-75). Mean age of respondents was 37. The main outcome measures were self-reported diagnosis or treatment for anxiety and depression (i.e. lifetime and previous 12 months), suicidality based on Psychiatric Symptom Frequency Scale, and current mental health as measured by the Mental Health Inventory of the SF-36. The key independent variable was whether their fathers were deployed to the Vietnam War. Results Almost 40 years after the war, the adult children of deployed veterans were more likely to have been diagnosed with anxiety [odds ratio (OR) = 1.54, confidence interval (CI) = 1.04, 2.28] and depression (OR = 1.77, CI = 1.03, 3.05), to have had thoughts of suicide and self-harm (OR = 2.39, CI = 1.57, 3.65) and to have made suicidal plans (OR = 3.52, CI = 1.40, 8.85) than the offspring of comparable, non-deployed army veterans. They also reported poorer current mental health (Coefficient = -5.08, CI = -6.60 - -3.56). Conclusions The results imply that there are significant and enduring adverse effects of parental deployment on the mental health of children in military families, and provide some insight into the potential long-term impacts of recent military engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Attendance in Primary School: Factors and Consequences

This report aims to understand attendance patterns in primary school, and examines the effects of students’ low attendance on their academic achievement (numeracy and reading) in primary school by addressing the following research questions: 1. To what extent is school attendance in the primary years influenced by child, family and school characteristics? 2. Do the factors associated with school attendance vary as children get older and become more independent? 3. Do the factors associated with non-attendance differ for children from different socioeconomic backgrounds (i.e. those whose parents do and do not receive income support)? 4. Is a child’s academic achievement influenced by prior attendance in primary school — and if so, to what extent? 5. Are there any characteristics of family and/or school that offset the effects of non-attendance on academic achievement? 6. Do the effects of absence on academic achievement differ for children from different socioeconomic backgrounds (i.e. those whose parents do and do not receive income support)? The analyses make use of data from the first four waves of Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) to examine the differences in attendance rate at different ages. In addition, they use data from the National Assessment Program — Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) to examine the academic achievement of children with different attendance patterns. The study includes children aged from 4-5 to 10-11 years old.