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Aims To examine the relationship between prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and children's behavioural and emotional development in a large generalizable sample of women and their children in Aotearoa New Zealand. Methods Using data from the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal cohort, we investigated the relationship between maternal PAE and behavioural and emotional development in 8-year-old children. We explored secondary outcomes including measures of language, executive function, academic achievement, and adaptive behaviour. Results We found no significant differences in the measures of behavioural and emotional development in children 8 years old based on alcohol consumption. No significant differences in behavioural and emotional development were found based on amount of PAE and when PAE occurred, despite controlling for a range of potential confounding factors, such as neighbourhood deprivation and maternal health measures. PAE was associated with significantly higher scores for parent-rated oral language indicating better oral language. In Māori mothers, PAE was significantly associated with an increased risk of higher scores on two of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire subscales. Conclusions We did not find an association between PAE and behavioural and emotional development in children aged 8 years. PAE and behavioural and emotional development are difficult to measure accurately, and the moderating variables between them are complex. Future analyses will require larger cohorts of mothers and their children using precise measures of PAE and outcomes to enable more precise estimates of association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children born very preterm can demonstrate social-cognitive impairments, which may result from limbic system dysfunction. Altered development of the subnuclei of the amygdala, stress-sensitive regions involved in emotional processing, may be key predictors of social-skill development. In a prospective cohort study, 7-year-old children born very preterm underwent neurodevelopmental testing and brain MRI. The Child Behavioral Checklist was used to assess social–emotional outcomes. Subnuclei volumes were extracted automatically from structural scans (n  = 69) and functional connectivity (n  = 66) was examined. General Linear Models were employed to examine the relationships between amygdala subnuclei volumes and functional connectivity values and social–emotional outcomes. Sex was a significant predictor of all social–emotional outcomes (P  < 0.05), with boys having poorer social–emotional outcomes. Smaller right basal nuclei volumes (B  = -0.043, P  = 0.014), smaller right cortical volumes (B  = -0.242, P  = 0.02) and larger right central nuclei volumes (B  = 0.85, P  = 0.049) were associated with increased social problems. Decreased connectivity strength between thalamic and amygdala networks and smaller right basal volumes were significant predictors of greater social problems (both, P  < 0.05), effects which were stronger in girls (P  = 0.025). Dysregulated maturation of the amygdala subnuclei, along with altered connectivity strength in stress-sensitive regions, may reflect stress-induced dysfunction and can be predictive of social–emotional outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Regular exercise has been proposed as a potential smoking cessation aid.Purpose: This study aimed to determine the effects of an exercise counseling program on cigarette smoking abstinence at 24 weeks.Methods: A parallel, two-arm, randomized controlled trial was conducted. Adult cigarette smokers (n = 906) who were insufficiently active and interested in quitting were randomized to receive the Fit2Quit intervention (10 exercise telephone counseling sessions over 6 months) plus usual care (behavioral counseling and nicotine replacement therapy) or usual care alone.Results: There were no significant group differences in 7-day point-prevalence and continuous abstinence at 6 months. The more intervention calls successfully delivered, the lower the probability of smoking (OR, 0.88; 95 % CI 0.81-0.97, p = 0.01) in the intervention group. A significant difference was observed for leisure time physical activity (difference = 219.11 MET-minutes/week; 95 % CI 52.65-385.58; p = 0.01).Conclusions: Telephone-delivered exercise counseling may not be sufficient to improve smoking abstinence rates over and above existing smoking cessation services. (Australasian Clinical Trials Registry Number: ACTRN12609000637246.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigators commonly gather longitudinal data to assess changes in responses over time and to relate these changes to within-subject changes in predictors. With rare or expensive outcomes such as uncommon diseases and costly radiologic measurements, outcome-dependent, and more generally outcome-related, sampling plans can improve estimation efficiency and reduce cost. Longitudinal follow up of subjects gathered in an initial outcome-related sample can then be used to study the trajectories of responses over time and to assess the association of changes in predictors within subjects with change in response. In this article, we develop two likelihood-based approaches for fitting generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) to longitudinal data from a wide variety of outcome-related sampling designs. The first is an extension of the semi-parametric maximum likelihood approach developed in Neuhaus, Scott and Wild (2002, Biometrika 89, 23-37) and Neuhaus, Scott and Wild (2006, Biometrics 62, 488-494) and applies quite generally. The second approach is an adaptation of standard conditional likelihood methods and is limited to random intercept models with a canonical link. Data from a study of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children motivates the work and illustrates the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]