Health Care Costs Associated With Parent-Reported ADHD: A Longitudinal Australian Population-Based Study.

Objective: To examine the health care costs associated with ADHD within a nationally representative sample of children.

Method: Data were from Waves 1 to 3 (4-9 years) of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children ( N = 4,983). ADHD was defined by previous diagnosis and a measure of ADHD symptoms (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [SDQ]).

Primary healthcare costs associated with sleep problems up to age 7 years: Australian population-based study.

Objectives: In Australian 0-7-year olds with and without sleep problems, to compare (1) type and costs to government of non-hospital healthcare services and prescription medication in each year of age and (2) the cumulative costs according to persistence of the sleep problem.

Design: Cross-sectional and longitudinal data from a longitudinal population study.

Setting: Data from two cohorts participating in the first two waves of the nationally representative Longitudinal Study of Australian Children.

Caregiver coping, mental health and child problem behaviours in cystic fibrosis: a cross-sectional study.

Background: In children with cystic fibrosis (CF) sleep, eating/mealtime, physiotherapy adherence and internalising problems are common. Caregivers also often report elevated depression, anxiety and stress symptoms.

Purpose: To identify, through principal components analysis (PCA), coping strategies used by Australian caregivers of children with CF and to assess the relationship between the derived coping components, caregiver mental health symptoms and child treatment related and non-treatment related problem behaviours.

Sleep disorders in infants and children.

Sleep disorders in infants and children are common and often behavioural in origin. Problems include difficulties going to sleep and/or maintaining sleep. History taking should focus on the bedtime routine, consistency of caregiver approach to settling, sleep cues and exclusion of medical problems including atopy and obstructive sleep apnoea.

Pharmacological and non-pharmacological management of sleep disturbance in children: an Australian Paediatric Research Network survey.

Background: Australian paediatricians use a wide variety of practices when managing sleep disturbances in children, including use of melatonin and behavioral strategies. However, practice patterns around the use of strategies, dosing, and how the patient populations managed, are unknown. Results could inform guidelines for the management of child sleep disturbances.

Five-year follow-up of harms and benefits of behavioral infant sleep intervention: randomized trial.

Background And Objectives: Randomized trials have demonstrated the short- to medium-term effectiveness of behavioral infant sleep interventions. However, concerns persist that they may harm children's emotional development and subsequent mental health. This study aimed to determine long-term harms and/or benefits of an infant behavioral sleep program at age 6 years on (1) child, (2) child-parent, and (3) maternal outcomes.

Probiotics to improve outcomes of colic in the community: protocol for the Baby Biotics randomised controlled trial.

Background: Infant colic, characterised by excessive crying/fussing for no apparent cause, affects up to 20% of infants under three months of age and is a great burden to families, health professionals and the health system. One promising approach to improving its management is the use of oral probiotics. The Baby Biotics trial aims to determine whether the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 is effective in reducing crying in infants less than three months old (<13.

Outcomes at six years of age for children with infant sleep problems: longitudinal community-based study.

Objectives: To examine whether infant sleep problems predict (1) sleep problems and (2) poorer outcomes at the age of six years.

Methods: We studied a community-based cohort of 326 six-year-olds recruited to a randomized trial of a behavioral sleep intervention for sleep problems at age seven months. Predictors were parent-reported child sleep problems at ages 4, 12, and 24 months ("yes" vs.

Preventing mental health problems in children: the Families in Mind population-based cluster randomised controlled trial.

Background: Externalising and internalising problems affect one in seven school-aged children and are the single strongest predictor of mental health problems into early adolescence. As the burden of mental health problems persists globally, childhood prevention of mental health problems is paramount. Prevention can be offered to all children (universal) or to children at risk of developing mental health problems (targeted).

Development of children's internalising and externalising problems from infancy to five years of age.

Objective: Mental health problems are an international public health issue affecting a substantial proportion of youth. This study aimed to identify groups of young children exhibiting distinct internalising and externalising symptom trajectories across early childhood compared to existing norms. Linear regression then identified child, parenting and family predictors from infancy in the development of internalising and externalising behaviours at age 5 years.

Sleep problems and mental health in primary school new entrants: cross-sectional community-based study.

Aims: To determine at school entry (i) the prevalence and types of child sleep problems; (ii) sleep difficulties and hygiene practices associated with sleep problems; and (iii) their associations with child health-related quality of life, mental health and parent mental health.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional community-based study at 22 primary schools in Melbourne, Australia. One thousand five hundred and twelve (70%) parents of children in the first 6 months of the child's first year of primary school took part.

The natural history and predictors of persistent problem behaviours in cystic fibrosis: a multicentre, prospective study.

Background: In cystic fibrosis (CF), problems with sleep, eating/mealtime behaviours, physiotherapy adherence and parental mental health issues are common, yet their natural history and the extent of service use to address them are unknown.

Objective: Follow up the 2007 cohort to determine: (1) prevalence of child sleep, eating/mealtime behaviours, physiotherapy adherence, and externalising/internalising problem behaviours and primary caregiver mental health status after a 3-year period; (2) natural history of child behaviours; (3) potentially modifiable predictors of persistent problems; and (4) service use for behaviours.

Design: Prospective cohort.

Baby Business: a randomised controlled trial of a universal parenting program that aims to prevent early infant sleep and cry problems and associated parental depression.

Background: Infant crying and sleep problems (e.g. frequent night waking, difficulties settling to sleep) each affect up to 30% of infants and often co-exist.

Managing sleep problems in school aged children with ADHD: a pilot randomised controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and helpfulness of a behavioral sleep program for children with ADHD, and explore the impact of different program dosages on child and family outcomes.

Methods: Randomised trial comparing a brief (1 session, n=13) and extended (2-3 sessions, n=14) sleep program in children with ADHD (aged 5-14 years) and at least one behavioral sleep disorder (American Academy of Sleep Medicine Criteria). Outcomes included helpfulness and use of interventions, child sleep (parent-reported sleep problem; Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire), ADHD symptoms (ADHD IV Rating Scale), daily functioning (Daily Parent Rating of Evening and Morning Behavior), quality of life (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory), and caregiver mental health (Depression Anxiety Stress Scales).

Problem behaviour in children--an approach for general practice.

Background: Around 12% of Australian children aged 4-12 years experience externalising behavioural problems such as aggression and hyperactivity. Similarly, around 12% experience internalising problems such as anxiety and depression. Other common behaviour problems, such as temper tantrums, arise as the child strives to achieve developmental milestones.

A brief sleep intervention improves outcomes in the school entry year: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of screening for child sleep problems and the efficacy of a behavioral sleep intervention in improving child and parent outcomes in the first year of schooling.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial was nested in a population survey performed at 22 elementary schools in Melbourne, Australia. Intervention involved 2 to 3 consultations that covered behavioral sleep strategies for children whose screening results were positive for a moderate/severe sleep problem.

Does sleep duration predict metabolic risk in obese adolescents attending tertiary services? A cross-sectional study.

Study Objectives: To determine, in a clinical sample of obese adolescents, whether shorter sleep duration is associated with metabolic risk and obesity severity.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Tertiary care weight-management clinic in Cincinnati, OH, USA.

The time and practice challenges of developmental-behavioral pediatrics: an Australian national study.

Objective: : Developmental/behavioral diagnoses are common in pediatric practice but, until the impact on pediatricians of caring for these children is quantified, training and remuneration barriers are unlikely to be addressed. In a prospective audit of Australian office-based pediatricians, developmental-behavioral and medical consultations were examined regarding (1) consultation characteristics, (2) child and parent health, and (3) referrals and investigations ordered.

Methods: : In 2008, all 300 eligible members of the nationwide Australian Paediatric Research Network were invited to prospectively record standardized information for every consultation over 2 weeks or 100 consecutive patients, whichever came first.

Sleep duration and body mass index in 0-7-year olds.

Objectives: To determine in children aged 0-7 years (1) cross-sectional relationships between body mass index (BMI) and sleep duration, and whether (2) sleep duration predicts later BMI and/or (3) BMI predicts later sleep duration.

Design: Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, Waves 1 and 2.

Participants: Infants aged 0-1 years (Wave 1), followed at age 2-3 years (Wave 2); children aged 4-5 years (Wave 1), followed at age 6-7 years (Wave 2).

Children Attending Paediatricians Study: a national prospective audit of outpatient practice from the Australian Paediatric Research Network.

Objective: To audit general paediatric outpatient practice in Australia, including consultation characteristics and management patterns, diagnoses, factors associated with diagnoses, and billing practices.

Design, Setting And Participants: In October-November 2008, members of the Australian Paediatric Research Network (APRN; a national network of paediatricians established to facilitate multisite secondary care research) were invited to prospectively complete brief standardised data collection forms for 100 consecutive patients or all patients during a 2-week period, whichever came first.

Main Outcome Measures: Length of consultation and type of diagnoses made; proportions recorded as having medications, investigations or referral; odds ratios for factors associated with diagnoses; and proportions of Medicare items billed.

Does an intervention that improves infant sleep also improve overweight at age 6? Follow-up of a randomised trial.

Objective: Short sleep duration may contribute to childhood obesity. Amenable to intervention, sleep thus provides a potential path for prevention. The authors aimed to determine the impact of a behavioural intervention that successfully reduced parent-reported infant sleep problems on adiposity at age 6.

The Cool Little Kids randomised controlled trial: population-level early prevention for anxiety disorders.

Background: The World Health Organization predicts that by 2030 internalising problems (e.g. depression and anxiety) will be second only to HIV/AIDS in international burden of disease.

Study protocol: the sleeping sound with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder project.

Background: Up to 70% of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) experience sleep problems including difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep. Sleep problems in children with ADHD can result in poorer child functioning, impacting on school attendance, daily functioning and behaviour, as well as parental mental health and work attendance. The Sleeping Sound with ADHD trial aims to investigate the efficacy of a behavioural sleep program in treating sleep problems experienced by children with ADHD.