Prenatal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure and child growth and adiposity: A longitudinal study.

Background: Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during childhood has been associated with altered growth and adiposity in children. The effects of prenatal exposure to PAHs on developmental programming of growth and adiposity are still unknown.

Objective: To study the association of prenatal exposure to PAHs with early childhood growth and adiposity measures.

Feasibility of an Obesity Prevention Program for Latino Families from First Trimester of Pregnancy to Child Age 18 Months and Predictors of Program Attendance.

The high prevalence of obesity in Latino families with low income necessitates prevention beginning in pregnancy and continuing through infancy. Due to systemic inequities, adverse social determinants of health (SDoH) and mental health symptoms may limit program efficacy by presenting barriers to attendance. We sought to assess: (1) the feasibility of the Starting Early Program (StEP) Prenatal, a 17-session intervention beginning early in pregnancy and continuing to 18 months postpartum; and (2) the effects of adverse SDoH (material hardship, low social support) and mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, stress) on program attendance.

Provider Perspectives on Techniques for Healthy Eating Promotion and Dietary Behavior Change in Caregiver-Child Dyads.

Child lifestyle behaviors are influenced by their caregivers. Targeting the caregiver-child relationship can establish healthy habits, especially healthful eating patterns, in both the caregiver and child. The purpose of this study was to identify the context for addressing strategies used to establish nutritious eating for the caregiver and child taken together as a unit (e.

Early Childhood Routines and Adolescent Health & Well-Being: Associations From a US Urban Cohort of Children With Socioeconomic Disadvantage.

Purpose: To investigate longitudinal associations between the presence of early childhood routines- predictable and repeatable functional practices that promote healthy growth, development, and relationships - and adolescent health outcomes.

Design: Secondary data analysis.

Setting: 20 large U.

Heart Healthy Routines in Young Children With Sesame Workshop: A Qualitative Study of Latina Mothers With Economic Hardship.

Objective: To explore how Sesame Workshop resources are perceived by Latino families with economic hardship and to highlight approaches for early heart healthy routine promotion.

Methods: We performed a purposive sampling of Latina mothers (n = 40) with young children experiencing economic hardship. Using an interview guide informed by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, we recorded Spanish and English semistructured interviews, which were translated and transcribed verbatim.

Trajectories of Housing Insecurity From Infancy to Adolescence and Adolescent Health Outcomes.

Background And Objectives: Housing insecurity is associated with adverse effects on child growth and development cross-sectionally; less is known about its cumulative, long-term effects. This study describes longitudinal experiences of housing insecurity during childhood from infancy (age 1 year) to adolescence (age 15 years) and examines their associations with adolescent health outcomes.

Methods: Using data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we created a composite measure of housing insecurity using 5 indicators (eg, skipping a rent or mortgage payment, eviction) for participants at ages 1, 3, 5, 9, and 15 years.

Prolonged Early Food Insecurity and Child Feeding Practices among a Low-Income Hispanic Population: Role of Parenting Stress.

Objective: To examine associations between prolonged early household food insecurity (FI) during pregnancy, infancy, and toddlerhood, and child feeding practices, and the mediating role of dysfunctional parent-child interactions.

Methods: We conducted secondary longitudinal analyses of data from the Starting Early Program (StEP) randomized controlled trial, which studied a primary care-based child obesity prevention program for low-income Hispanic families. Our independent variable was FI, using the USDA Food Security Module, during the third trimester of pregnancy and at child ages 10- and 19-months.

The effects of parent-child dysfunctional interactions on early childhood weight: A serial mediation model through emotional feeding and child appetite traits.

Parent-child dysfunctional interactions (PCDI) are known to contribute to children's weight status. However, the underlying mechanisms in how dysfunctional interactions between parent and child influence child weight are not clear. This study investigates the impact of PCDI on toddlers' weight, focusing on the potential serial mediation by maternal emotional feeding and child appetite traits.

Infant Feeding Outcomes From a Culturally-Adapted Early Obesity Prevention Program for Immigrant Chinese American Parents.

Objective: To examine whether a cultural adaptation of an early childhood obesity prevention program promotes healthy infant feeding practices.

Methods: Prospective quasi-experimental study of a community-engaged multiphasic cultural adaptation of an obesity prevention program set at a federally qualified health center serving immigrant Chinese American parent-child dyads (N = 298). In a group of historical controls, we assessed early infant feeding practices (breastfeeding, sugar-sweetened beverage intake) in 6-month-olds and then the same practices alongside early solid food feeding practices (bottle weaning, fruit, vegetable, sugary or salty snack consumption) in 12-month-olds.

Parent Education and Adolescent Health Outcomes: The Potential Role of Adolescent Academic Intention.

Parental educational attainment significantly shapes child socioeconomic status, potentially influencing various aspects of adolescent health. This study aimed to uncover the relationships between parental education and self-reported adolescent health outcomes, including overall health, mental well-being, and body mass index (BMI). Analyzing data from 1,448 participants in the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we identified notable associations.

Prenatal and Pediatric Primary Care-Based Child Obesity Prevention: Effects of Adverse Social Determinants of Health on Intervention Attendance and Impact.

Adverse social determinants of health (SDoHs), specifically psychosocial stressors and material hardships, are associated with early childhood obesity. Less is known about whether adverse SDoHs modify the efficacy of early childhood obesity prevention programs. We conducted a secondary analysis of publicly insured birthing parent-child dyads with Latino backgrounds participating in a randomized controlled trial of the Starting Early Program (StEP), a child obesity prevention program beginning in pregnancy.

Household Food Insecurity and Maternal-Toddler Fruit and Vegetable Dietary Concordance.

Objective: To examine whether prenatal or concurrent household food insecurity influences associations between maternal and toddler fruit and vegetable (FV) intake.

Design: Application of a life-course framework to an analysis of a longitudinal dataset.

Setting: Early childhood obesity prevention program at a New York City public hospital.

Material Hardship, Protective Factors, Children's Special Health Care Needs, and the Health of Mothers and Fathers.

Background: Parents of children with special health care needs (CSHCN) are at risk of poorer health outcomes. Material hardships also pose significant health risks to parents. Little is known about how protective factors may mitigate these risks and if effects are similar between mothers and fathers.

Early Childcare Precarity and Subsequent Maternal Health.

Purpose: We examined prospective associations between early childcare precarity, or the security and reliability of childcare arrangements, and subsequent maternal health.

Study Design: We conducted a secondary analysis of survey responses from mothers of 2,836 children in the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing study. We assessed the following childcare measures: insecure childcare, insecure childcare with missed work, inadequate childcare, and emergency childcare support.

Supporting early childhood routines to promote cardiovascular health across the life course.

Optimal cardiovascular health is an essential component of human health and well-being across the life course. Heart healthy practices around diet, physical activity, and sleep early in childhood have the potential to greatly improve lifespan and quality (Mehta et al., 2020).

Prenatal Risks to Healthy Food Access and High Birthweight Outcomes.

Objective: Infants with high birthweight have increased risk for adverse outcomes at birth and across childhood. Prenatal risks to healthy food access may increase odds of high birthweight. We tested whether having a poor neighborhood food environment and/or food insecurity had associations with high birthweight.

The regulation of endocrine-disrupting chemicals to minimize their impact on health.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are substances generated by human industrial activities that are detrimental to human health through their effects on the endocrine system. The global societal and economic burden posed by EDCs is substantial. Poorly defined or unenforced policies can increase human exposure to EDCs, thereby contributing to human disease, disability and economic damage.

Prenatal oxidative stress and rapid infant weight gain.

Background And Objectives: Infant weight patterns predict subsequent weight outcomes. Rapid infant weight gain, defined as a >0.67 increase in weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) between two time points in infancy, increases obesity risk.

Duration of US Residence And Resource Needs In Immigrant Families With Young Children.

To mitigate the negative impact of resource needs on child health, practices serving low-income immigrant families have implemented screening programs to connect families to community resources. Little is known about how duration of US residence relates to patterns of resource needs and indicators of acculturation such as community resource knowledge/experience or self-efficacy. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of a convenience sample of immigrant families with young children at an urban primary care clinic.

Social Capital and Sleep Outcomes Across Childhood in United States Families.

Objective: To examine whether aspects of social capital, or benefits received from social relationships, are associated with regular bedtime and sleep duration across childhood in US families with lower income.

Methods: Cross-sectional study using the 2018-19 National Survey of Children's Health in participants with incomes <400% federal poverty level. Separately for early childhood (0-5 years), school-age (6-12 years), and adolescence (13-17 years), we used weighted logistic regression to examine associations between social capital (measured by family social cohesion, parent social support, child social support) and sleep (measured by regular bedtime, sleep duration, adequate sleep per American of Academy of Sleep guidelines).

Infant Feeding Practices and Social Support Networks Among Immigrant Chinese American Mothers With Economic Disadvantage in New York City.

Background: Maternal social support promotes healthy infant feeding practices, which influence healthy growth and development. Less is known about how the interplay of social support networks and multicultural health beliefs may influence infant feeding practices, particularly among immigrant Chinese American mothers with economic disadvantage and low breastfeeding rates.

Research Aim: To explore the role of social support networks in the development of infant feeding practices in immigrant Chinese American mothers with infants.

Modified body mass index z-scores in children in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: Determine whether the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on weight gain trajectories among children attending well-child visits in New York City persisted after the public health restrictions were reduced.

Study Design: Multicenter retrospective chart review study of 7150 children aged 3-19 years seen for well-child care between 1 January 2018 and 4 December 2021 in the NYC Health and Hospitals system. Primary outcome was the difference in annual change of modified body mass index z-score (mBMIz) between the pre-pandemic and early- and late-pandemic periods.

The Prenatal Neighborhood Environment and Geographic Hotspots of Infants with At-risk Birthweights in New York City.

Infants born with low or high ("at-risk") birthweights are at greater risk of adverse health outcomes across the life course. Our objective was to examine whether geographic hotspots of low and high birthweight prevalence in New York City had different patterns of neighborhood risk factors. We performed census tract-level geospatial clustering analyses using (1) birthweight prevalence and maternal residential address from an all-payer claims database and (2) domains of neighborhood risk factors (socioeconomic and food environment) from national and local datasets.