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Objective Epidemiologic and clinical research papers often describe the study sample in the first table. If well-executed, this “Table 1” can illuminate potential threats to internal and external validity. However, little guidance exists on best practices for designing a Table 1, especially for complex study designs and analyses. We aimed to summarize and extend the literature related to reporting descriptive statistics. Study Design and Setting In consultation with existing guidelines, we synthesized and developed reporting recommendations driven by study design and focused on transparency related to potential threats to internal and external validity. Results We describe a basic structure for Table 1 and discuss simple modifications in terms of columns, rows, and cells to enhance a reader's ability to judge both internal and external validity. We further highlight several analytic complexities common in epidemiologic research (missing data, sample weights, clustered data, and interaction) and describe possible variations to Table 1 to maintain and add clarity about study validity in light of these issues. We discuss considerations and tradeoffs in Table 1 related to breadth and comprehensiveness vs. parsimony and reader-friendliness. Conclusion We anticipate that our work will guide authors considering layouts for Table 1, with attention to the reader's perspective.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess when in the life-course race-by-sex disparities in body mass index (BMI) emerge. Methods Child Health and Development Studies participants, from whom height and weight data were collected at ages 5, 9–11, and 15–17 years, were followed up at the age of 50 years for anthropometric outcomes. Follow-up was completed for 605 subjects, 460 of whom were assessed for height and weight at the age of 50 years, had at least one available childhood BMI measure, and self-identified as either non-Hispanic black or non-Hispanic white. Linear regression analyses were conducted to determine whether interactions existed between race (black vs. white) and sex for predicting BMI at ages 5, 9–11, 15–17, and 50 years. Results At age 5 years, BMI was independent of sex for both blacks and whites, but by the age of 9–11 years, BMI was sex-dependent in blacks, with higher BMI observed among black females. This sex dependence for BMI among blacks persisted at ages 15–17 years and age 50 years. The race-by-sex interaction was significant at ages 9–11, 15–17, and 50 years (P for interaction = 0.001, 0.002, and 0.01, respectively). Conclusions Race-by-sex disparities in body size were observed by the age of 9–11 years and persisted until the age of 50 years.

We strongly support efforts to generate, rigorously test, and falsify hypotheses derived from the Environmental Affordances (EA) Model of Health Disparities, as originated by the late Dr. James S. Jackson (1940–2020). Such efforts are critical to establishing robust, theoretically grounded scientific frameworks that explain the fundamental causes of racial disparities in health and wellbeing. Pamplin et al. (2021) fundamentally misrepresents the EA Model as a framework that (falsely) reifies the role of race as a determinant of health behaviors and health outcomes. Further, both their study design and analytic approach are inappropriate for testing predictions of this framework. We address these issues with the goal of recentering the scholarly conversation about how stress contributes to health, and disparities in health, over the life course.

In a sample of 442 births from the Child Health and Development Studies cohort, we examined associations between maternal prenatal exposure to hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyl metabolites (OH-PCBs) and pregnancy outcomes, and whether associations were mediated by maternal thyroid hormone levels and/or modified by maternal smoking. Compared to nonsmokers, smokers had twice the mean concentration of 4-OH-CB107 (p

Purpose Cognitive development during adolescence affects health long term. We investigated whether level of and change in language-based cognition during adolescence are associated with cognitive performance in midlife. Methods Participants were enrolled in the Child Health and Development Study and followed during midlife (47–52 years). Adolescent cognition was measured with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test at ages 9–11 years (PPVT-9) and 15–17 years (PPVT-15). We examined PPVT-9, as well as a PPVT change score (derived using the standardized regression-based method) in relation to midlife cognition measures of Wechsler Test of Adult Reading, Verbal Fluency, and Digit Symbol tests. Linear regression models were adjusted for childhood socioeconomic status, age, sex, race, and midlife marital status, education, and occupational score. Results In 357 participants (52.1% female, 25.6% African American), both PPVT-9 (β [95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.26 [0.18, 0.34]) and PPVT change score (β [95% CI] = 2.03 [1.27, 2.80]) were associated with Wechsler Test of Adult Reading at midlife. PPVT-9 was associated with midlife Verbal Fluency (β [95% CI] = 0.18 [0.10, 0.25]), whereas PPVT change score was not (β [95% CI] = −0.01 [−0.68, 0.67]). Neither PPVT-9 nor PPVT change score was associated with midlife Digit Symbol. Conclusions Both level of and change in language-based cognition during adolescence were associated with midlife vocabulary and language function, even after controlling for midlife occupation and education.