Binge-eating disorder (BED) and subthreshold BED (SBED) are prevalent in adults and associated with mental health problems including depression, non-suicidal self-injury, lower quality of life, and ...suicidality. There is solid evidence that binge-eating behaviors are also prevalent in adolescence, but knowledge about mental health in community adolescents with BED of different frequency thresholds is more limited. We aimed to investigate the prevalence and mental health problems associated with SBED of low frequency and/or limited duration compared with BED in a Danish community sample of adolescents.
We included 2509 adolescents who completed the online survey of the 16-17-year follow-up of the Copenhagen Child Cohort (CCC2000), including items on BED symptoms approximating the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria, and items on mental health and quality of life.
The 1-year prevalence of SBED was 2.7% (95% confidence interval CI: 2.0%-3.3%) with a male:female ratio of 1:3.7; comparable to previous findings on BED in the same sample. SBED was also comparable to BED concerning cross-sectional associations with overall mental health problems, lower health-related quality of life, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation, whereas no associations were seen with non-suicidal self-injury after Holm-Bonferroni correction. In both groups, thoughts and behaviors concerning food and weight interfered significantly with daily life.
SBED and BED were equally prevalent in this adolescent community sample, and similarly associated with indicators of poor mental health. The findings indicate that community adolescents reporting symptoms approximating clinical criteria of BED need intervention irrespectively of symptom frequency or duration.
This study adds knowledge to the field by comparing BED of low frequency and/or limited duration ("subthreshold BED," SBED) with full-syndrome BED in adolescents and showing that SBED in adolescence is both prevalent and associated with poor mental health to a similar extent as that of BED. Findings indicate that self-reported symptoms according to clinical criteria of SBED and BED alike constitute a public health problem and point to youngsters in need of intervention.
Objective
Binge‐eating disorder (BED) was established as a diagnosis in 2013 with the DSM‐5 and has been included in the ICD‐11 in 2018. In adulthood, BED is prevalent and correlated with somatic and ...mental health problems. Less is known about BED in adolescence, although this age period could represent a window of opportunity for early intervention. This study aimed to investigate the 1‐year prevalence, correlates, and impact of BED symptoms in a community sample of adolescents.
Method
We included 1,404 girls and 1,105 boys from the 16‐years‐follow‐up of the Copenhagen Child Cohort study, CCC2000. The adolescents self‐reported on BED symptoms, weight‐status, body perception, mental health problems, and self‐rated impact of food and weight‐related thoughts and behaviors. Information about socio‐economic factors and hospital diagnosed psychiatric disorders were obtained from national registries.
Results
A total of 8.5% reported weekly overeating with loss of control (10.9% of girls, 4.8% of boys), and 2.6% (3.6% of girls, 1.2% of boys) reported symptoms consistent with BED according to the DSM‐5. Regardless of sex, BED was correlated with concurrent overweight, body‐dissatisfaction, low self‐esteem, and mental health problems, especially emotional, but also with problems of behavior, inattention, and peer‐relations, and with high self‐rated impact on everyday life. Immigrant background and lower socio‐economy were potential risk factors for BED in boys in this sample.
Discussion
BED was prevalent and correlated with mental health problems and overall impact among adolescents in this community sample, indicating the need for clinical attention and intervention towards binge‐eating disorder in the adolescent period.
Objective
Evidence linking childhood body mass index (BMI) with subsequent eating disorders is equivocal. Potential explanations include different study populations and size, and that anorexia ...nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) should be studied separately. We examined whether birthweight and childhood BMI were associated with subsequent risk of AN and BN in girls.
Method
We included 68,793 girls from the Copenhagen School Health Records Register born between 1960 and 1996 with information on birthweight and measured weights and heights obtained from school health examinations at ages 6–15 years. Diagnoses of AN and BN were retrieved from Danish nationwide patient registers. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results
We identified 355 cases of AN (median age: 19.0) and 273 cases of BN (median age: 21.8). Higher childhood BMI was linearly associated with decreasing risk of AN and increasing risk of BN at all childhood ages. At age 6, the HR for AN was 0.85 (95% CI: 0.74–0.97) per BMI z‐score and the HR for BN was 1.78 (95% CI: 1.50–2.11) per BMI z‐score. Birthweight >3.75 kg was associated with increased risk of BN compared to a birthweight of 3.26–3.75 kg.
Conclusion
Higher BMI in girls at ages 6–15 years was associated with decreasing risk of AN and increasing risk of BN. Premorbid BMI could be relevant for the etiology of AN and BN, and in identifying high risk individuals.
Public significance
Eating disorders are associated with elevated mortality, especially AN. Using a cohort of Copenhagen school children, we linked information on BMI at ages 6–15 years for 68,793 girls with nationwide patient registers. Low childhood BMI was associated with increased risk of AN, whereas high childhood BMI was associated with increased risk of BN. These findings may assist clinicians in identifying individuals at high‐risk of these diseases.
Objective
The objective of this study is to critically review existing literature concerning the possible association between autistic‐like behaviours and problematic eating behaviours in nonclinical ...populations.
Method
We performed a systematic literature search in three large databases. Studies were included if they assessed any association between a broad range of autistic‐like behaviours and problematic eating behaviours in nonclinical samples.
Results
Sixteen eligible studies were found covering 3,595 participants in total, including five studies on children/adolescents (n = 685). All studies were cross‐sectional, and thus, only concurrent associations could be evaluated. Several autistic‐like behaviours were found to be associated with problematic eating behaviours, with the overall “autism spectrum quotient,” deficiencies in set‐shifting, and theory of mind showing the strongest associations.
Conclusions
The existing literature indicates concurrent associations between specific autistic‐like behaviours and problematic eating behaviours in nonclinical samples across ages. Large prospective longitudinal studies are needed for insight into the temporal order of these associations.
Introduction
According to a precautionary principle, it is recommended that pregnant women and women trying to conceive abstain from alcohol consumption. In this dose–response meta‐analysis, we aimed ...to examine the association between alcohol consumption and binge drinking and the risk of miscarriage in the first and second trimesters.
Material and methods
The literature search was conducted in MEDLINE, Embase and the Cochrane Library in May 2022, without any language, geographic or time limitations. Cohort or case–control studies reporting dose‐specific effects adjusting for maternal age and using separate risk assessments for first‐ and second‐trimester miscarriages were included. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. This study is registered with PROSPERO, registration number CRD42020221070.
Results
A total of 2124 articles were identified. Five articles met the inclusion criteria. Adjusted data from 153 619 women were included in the first‐trimester analysis and data from 458 154 women in the second‐trimester analysis. In the first and second trimesters, the risk of miscarriage increased by 7% (odds ratio OR 1.07, 95% confidence interval CI 0.96–1.20) and 3% (OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.99–1.08) for each additional drink per week, respectively, but not to a statistically significant degree. One article regarding binge drinking and the risk of miscarriage was found, which revealed no association between the variables in either the first or second trimester (OR 0.84 95% CI 0.62–1.14 and OR 1.04 95% CI 0.78–1.38).
Conclusions
This meta‐analysis revealed no dose‐dependent association between miscarriage risk and alcohol consumption, but further focused research is recommended. The research gap regarding miscarriage and binge drinking needs further investigation.
No dose‐dependent association between miscarriage risk and alcohol consumption was found in this dose–response meta‐analysis.
Summary
Background
Despite the importance of oxytocinergic signalling for satiety regulation and energy balance, the impact of exposure to synthetic oxytocin during childbirth on obesity during ...childhood remains unknown.
Objectives
To examine the association between oxytocin exposure during labour and the risk of being overweight or obese during childhood.
Methods
Synthetic oxytocin exposure data of mothers from the Danish Medical Birth Registry were linked with self‐reported anthropometric data of their children from the Danish National Birth Cohort (5 months–11 years of age). Multinomial logistic regression and latent class growth analyses were performed to determine the association between oxytocin exposure and obesity during childhood.
Results
With the exception of the normal weight‐to‐overweight group between ages 5 and 12 months, none of the other analyses revealed a significant association between synthetic oxytocin use and the risk of being overweight until the age of 11 years. Furthermore, latent class growth analysis did not reveal an association between oxytocin exposure at birth and the risk of being overweight or obese during childhood.
Conclusions
Our analysis of a large cohort of children who varied in their synthetic oxytocin exposure status at childbirth did not reveal an association between oxytocin exposure and the risk of childhood overweight/obesity.
Abstract
Introduction
The nature of the relationship between maternal tobacco smoking during pregnancy and the occurrence of children’s behavioral problems is still a matter of controversy. We tested ...this association using data collected among a sample of pregnant women and their offspring followed up from birth to early adolescence (age 12 years), accounting for multiple parent, child, and family characteristics.
Aims and Methods
Data come from 1424 mother–child pairs participating in the Étude des Déterminants pré et post-natals précoces du développement psychomoteur et de la santé de l’ENfant mother–child cohort in France. Using repeated measures (3, 5.5, 8, and 11.5 years) of the mother-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, we estimated trajectories of children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties. Two aspects of maternal smoking were studied: The timing (nonsmoker, smoking during the periconceptional period, or throughout pregnancy) and the level of use (cigarettes/day) during the first trimester of pregnancy. Robust Poisson regression models controlled for confounding factors including maternal mental health and socioeconomic characteristics using propensity scores with the overlap weighting technique.
Results
Contrary to bivariate analyses, in propensity score–controlled regression models, maternal smoking throughout pregnancy was no longer significantly associated with offspring emotional or behavioral difficulties. Maternal heavy smoking (≥10 cigarettes/day) remained significantly associated with intermediate levels of conduct problems (RR 1.25, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.31).
Conclusions
The association between maternal smoking in pregnancy and offspring’s emotional and behavioral difficulties appears to be largely explained by women’s other characteristics. However, maternal heavy smoking appears to be related to offspring behavioral difficulties beyond the role of confounding characteristics.
Implications
The relationship between maternal smoking during pregnancy (in two modalities: Timing and level of smoking) and behavioral difficulties in children is still a matter of debate. While the relationship between any maternal tobacco use and offspring behavioral difficulties appears to be largely explained by confounding factors, heavy maternal smoking in the first trimester of pregnancy seems to be associated with offspring behavioral difficulties beyond the socioeconomic and mental health characteristics transmitted across generations.
Many new mothers do not reach their breastfeeding goals. Breastfeeding self‐efficacy is a modifiable determinant influenced by prior and new breastfeeding experiences. More knowledge about factors ...associated with early breastfeeding experiences and breastfeeding self‐efficacy would allow us to qualify breastfeeding counselling and increase breastfeeding duration. This study aimed to identify prevalence and factors associated with early negative breastfeeding experience, low breastfeeding self‐efficacy in the first week postpartum, and drop in self‐efficacy from late pregnancy to early postpartum period. A prospective longitudinal study was performed in Denmark from 2013 to 2014, including 2, 804 mothers.
Results showed that 1 week postpartum almost 10% of mothers had negative breastfeeding experiences, 36% had low breastfeeding self‐efficacy, and 26% drop in self‐efficacy from pregnancy. Negative breastfeeding experiences were significantly associated with epidural analgesia, interrupted skin‐to‐skin contact immediately postpartum, short previous breastfeeding duration, and lacking social support. Low breastfeeding self‐efficacy was associated with low breastfeeding intention, short previous breastfeeding duration, and negative breastfeeding experiences in the first week postpartum. Finally, significant associations of drop in breastfeeding self‐efficacy from late pregnancy were no or short education, early negative breastfeeding experiences, prior short breastfeeding duration, and low general breastfeeding self‐efficacy in pregnancy. Negative breastfeeding experiences in the first week postpartum is crucial for maternal breastfeeding self‐efficacy 1 week following birth. It is important to identify and support mothers at risk of negative breastfeeding experiences in the first week following birth and address factors that might increase the probability of early successful breastfeeding experiences.
Introduction
The objective was to examine the association between obstetric synthetic oxytocin use and hyperactivity/inattention problems in offspring.
Material and methods
We identified children ...born in 2000–2003, enrolled in the Danish National Birth Cohort, with data on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) reported by parents at age seven (n = 33 896) and age 11 (n = 27 561) and the children themselves around age 11 (n = 27 251). Information on oxytocin administration was provided in the Medical Birth Register. We estimated mean differences and odds ratios for childhood hyperactivity/inattention problems according to oxytocin exposure.
Results
Synthetic oxytocin was administered in 26% of the deliveries. We did not find the use of synthetic oxytocin during birth to be associated with childhood hyperactivity/inattention problems, whether analyzed in linear or logistic regression models.
Conclusions
Our findings do not support any effects of obstetric use of synthetic oxytocin on hyperactivity/inattention problems in children when measured with the SDQ subscale at 7 or 11 years of age.
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