Early childhood body mass index growth and school readiness: A longitudinal cohort study.

Background: Child growth influences future health and learning. School readiness refers to a child's ability to meet developmental expectations at school entry. The association of early growth rate and patterns with school readiness remains unknown.

The mediation effect of breastfeeding duration on the relationship between maternal preconception BMI and childhood nutritional risk.

Background: Higher maternal preconception body mass index (BMI) is associated with lower breastfeeding duration, which may contribute to the development of poor child eating behaviours and dietary intake patterns (components of nutritional risk). A higher maternal preconception BMI has been found to be associated with higher child nutritional risk. This study aimed to determine whether breastfeeding duration mediated the association between maternal preconception BMI and child nutritional risk.

Validation of a parent proxy-reported beverage screener compared to a 24-hour dietary recall for the measurement of sugar-containing beverage intake among young children.

Measures that can provide reasonably accurate estimates of sugar-containing beverage (SCB) intake among children are needed. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the relative validity of a short beverage screener (Nutrition and Health Questionnaire, NHQ) compared to a 24-hour recall (Automated Self-Administered 24-h (ASA24) Dietary Assessment Tool-Canada) for assessing parent proxy-reported daily SCB intake among children aged 4-14 years from the TARGet Kids! research network in Toronto, Canada. Children for whom a NHQ completed between March 2018 and June 2019 and an ASA24 completed within one year were included.

Maternal Preconception Body Mass Index and Early Childhood Nutritional Risk.

Background: Risk factors for problematic child eating behaviors and food preferences are thought to begin during the preconception period. It is unknown if maternal preconception body mass index (BMI) is associated with child nutritional risk factors (eg, poor dietary intake and eating behaviors).

Objectives: We aimed to determine whether maternal preconception BMI was associated with child nutritional risk.

Predictive Validity of the Infant Toddler Checklist in Primary Care at the 18-month Visit and School Readiness at 4 to 6 Years.

Objective: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends developmental surveillance and screening in early childhood in primary care. The 18-month visit may be an ideal time for identification of children with delays in language and communication, or symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Little is known about the predictive validity of developmental screening tools administered at 18 months.

Early Life Antibiotic Prescription for Upper Respiratory Tract Infection Is Associated With Higher Antibiotic Use in Childhood.

Background: Antibiotic prescription for uncomplicated upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in children is not recommended but remains common. The primary objective was to evaluate the relationship between antibiotic prescription for URTI prior to age 2 and antibiotic prescription for URTI after age 2. It was hypothesized that antibiotic prescription for URTI in early childhood may increase the risk of antibiotic use for subsequent URTIs.

Body Weight at Age Four Years and Readiness to Start School: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Adolescents with obesity have lower academic performance, but little is known about the association between body weight in early childhood and school readiness. The objective was to examine the association between age- and sex-standardized body mass index (zBMI) and body weight status and school readiness in young children. A prospective cohort study in Toronto, Canada, was conducted in young children enrolled in TARGet Kids!.

Children's screen use and school readiness at 4-6 years: prospective cohort study.

Background: The primary aim of this study was to determine if screen use in early childhood is associated with overall vulnerability in school readiness at ages 4 to 6 years, as measured by the Early Development Instrument (EDI). Secondary aims were to: (1) determine if screen use was associated with individual EDI domains scores, and (2) examine the association between screen use and EDI domains scores among a subgroup of high screen users.

Methods: This prospective cohort study was carried out using data from young children participating in a large primary care practice-based research network in Canada.

Nutritional Risk in Early Childhood and School Readiness.

Background: Nutrition in early childhood is important for healthy growth and development. Achieving school readiness is considered one of the most important developmental milestones for young children.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine if nutritional risk in early childhood is associated with school readiness in kindergarten.

Association Between Physical Activity, Screen Time and Sleep, and School Readiness in Canadian Children Aged 4 to 6 Years.

Objective: School readiness is strongly associated with a child's future school success and well-being. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether meeting 24-hour movement guidelines (national physical activity, sedentary behaviors, and sleep recommendations) was associated with school readiness measured with mean scores in each of the 5 developmental domains of the Early Development Instrument (EDI) in Canadian children aged 4 to 6 years. Secondary objectives include examining the following: (1) the association between meeting 24-hour movement guidelines and overall vulnerability in school readiness and (2) the association between meeting individual physical activity, screen use and sleep recommendations, and overall school readiness.

Nutritional risk in early childhood and parent-reported school concerns.

Objective: To determine if nutritional risk in early childhood is associated with parent-reported school concerns.

Design: A prospective cohort study conducted through the TARGet Kids! primary care research network (2011-2018). Nutritional risk was measured between 18 months and 5 years of age using validated parent-completed NutriSTEP® questionnaires with eating behaviour and dietary intake subscores (0 = lowest and 68 = highest total nutritional risk score).

Body Mass Index Mediates the Association between Growth Trajectories and Cardiometabolic Risk in Children.

Few studies have published mediation analyses to quantify the role concurrent BMI plays in the relationship between growth and cardiometabolic risk (CMR) outcomes. We used data from a longitudinal cohort study conducted in children aged 0-60 months through The Applied Research Group for Kids (TARGet Kids!) in Canada. Four age and sex standardized BMI (zBMI) trajectories were identified using latent class mixed models.

Cow's Milk Fat Obesity pRevention Trial (CoMFORT): a primary care embedded randomised controlled trial protocol to determine the effect of cow's milk fat on child adiposity.

Introduction: Cow's milk is a dietary staple for children in North America. Though clinical guidelines suggest children transition from whole (3.25% fat) milk to reduced (1% or 2%) fat milk at age 2 years, recent epidemiological evidence supports a link between whole milk consumption and lower adiposity in children.

The association between body mass index trajectories and cardiometabolic risk in young children.

Background: Rapid growth is associated with increased cardiometabolic risk (CMR) in adolescence and adulthood. Little is known about whether the association between rapid growth and increased CMR originates in early childhood.

Objectives: To identify age and sex standardized body mass index (zBMI) trajectories and to examine the association between zBMI trajectories and CMR outcomes in children 0 to 60 months.

Fit for School Study protocol: early child growth, health behaviours, nutrition, cardiometabolic risk and developmental determinants of a child's school readiness, a prospective cohort.

Introduction: School readiness is a multidimensional construct that includes cognitive, behavioural and emotional aspects of a child's development. School readiness is strongly associated with a child's future school success and well-being. The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a reliable and valid teacher-completed tool for assessing school readiness in children at kindergarten age.

Agreement between a health claims algorithm and parent-reported asthma in young children.

Introduction: Asthma prevalence is commonly measured in national surveys by questionnaire. The Ontario Asthma Surveillance Information System (OASIS) developed a validated health claims diagnosis algorithm to estimate asthma prevalence. The primary objective was to assess the agreement between two approaches of measuring asthma in young children.

A Positive Association Between Dietary Intake of Higher Cow's Milk-Fat Percentage and Non-High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Young Children.

Objectives: To determine the association between cow's milk-fat and non-high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol, a marker of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in young children, and whether this association is mediated by the typical volume of cow's milk consumed.

Study Design: A longitudinal study in 2- to 8-year-old children (n = 2890) was conducted through The Applied Research Group for Kids (TARGet Kids!), a practice-based research network in Toronto, Canada. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the relationship between parent-reported cow's milk-fat percentage intake and serum non-HDL cholesterol concentrations as well as having high non-HDL cholesterol (≥3.

25-hydroxyvitamin D and health service utilization for asthma in early childhood.

Background: Asthma is the most common chronic illness of childhood and a common reason for hospital admission. Studies suggest that low vitamin D levels may be associated with health service utilization (HSU) for childhood asthma. The primary objective was to determine if vitamin D serum levels in early childhood were associated with HSU for asthma including: a) hospital admissions; b) emergency department visits; and c) outpatient sick visits.

Difficulty buying food, BMI, and eating habits in young children.

Objectives: To determine whether parent report of difficulty buying food was associated with child body mass index (BMI) z-score or with eating habits in young children.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in primary care offices in Toronto, Ontario. Subjects were children aged 1-5 years and their caregivers, recruited through the TARGet Kids! Research Network from July 2008 to August 2011.

25-Hydroxyvitamin D supplementation and health-service utilization for upper respiratory tract infection in young children.

Objective: Upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) are the most common and costly condition of childhood. Low vitamin D levels have been hypothesized as a risk factor for URTI. The primary objective was to determine if serum vitamin D levels were associated with health-service utilization (HSU) for URTI including hospital admission, emergency department visits and outpatient sick visits.

Evaluating the accuracy of a geographic closed-ended approach to ethnicity measurement, a practical alternative.

Purpose: Measuring ethnicity accurately is important for identifying ethnicity variations in disease risk. We evaluated the degree of agreement and accuracy of maternal ethnicity measured using the new standardized closed-ended geographically based ethnicity question and geographic reclassification of open-ended ethnicity questions from the Canadian census.

Methods: A prospectively designed study of respondent agreement of mothers of healthy children aged 1-5 years recruited through the TARGet Kids! practice-based research network.

Non-Western immigrant children have lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D than children from Western families.

Objective: To determine if children aged 1-6 years from non-Western immigrant families have lower serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels than children from Western-born families and examine which factors influence this relationship.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Toronto, Canada.