Reducing behavior problems in children born after an unintended pregnancy: the generation R study.

Objectives: To examine differences in behavior problems between children from intended versus unintended pregnancies, and to estimate how much the difference in problem behavior would be reduced if postnatal depression was eliminated and social support was increased within 6 months after birth.

Methods: Data from the Generation R Study were used, a population-based birth cohort in Rotterdam, the Netherlands (N = 9621). Differences in child internalizing and externalizing behavior at ages 1.

Are some children genetically predisposed to poor sleep? A polygenic risk study in the general population.

Background: Twin studies show moderate heritability of sleep traits: 40% for insomnia symptoms and 46% for sleep duration. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified genetic variants involved in insomnia and sleep duration in adults, but it is unknown whether these variants affect sleep during early development. We assessed whether polygenic risk scores for insomnia (PRS-I) and sleep duration (PRS-SD) affect sleep throughout early childhood to adolescence.

Fetal and infant growth patterns, sleep, and 24-h activity rhythms: a population-based prospective cohort study in school-age children.

The study objective was to explore associations of fetal and infant weight patterns and preterm birth with sleep and 24-h activity rhythm parameters at school-age. In our prospective population-based study, 1327 children were followed from birth to age 10-15 years. Fetal weight was estimated using ultrasound in the second and third trimester of pregnancy.

Sleep Problems and Autism Impairments in a Large Community Sample of Children and Adolescents.

Sleep problems are common in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). How sleep problems reflect specific ASD phenotypes is unclear. We studied whether sleep problems indexed functional impairment in a heterogeneous community sample of individuals with ASD.

Clustering of characteristics associated with unplanned pregnancies: the generation R study.

Background: Unplanned or unintended pregnancies form a major public health concern because they are associated with unfavorable birth outcomes as well as social adversity, stress and depression among parents-to-be. Several risk factors for unplanned pregnancies in women have previously been identified, but studies usually take a unidimensional approach by focusing on only one or few factors, disregarding the possibility that predictors might cluster. Furthermore, data on predictors in men are largely overlooked.

Longitudinal associations of DNA methylation and sleep in children: a meta-analysis.

Background: Sleep is important for healthy functioning in children. Numerous genetic and environmental factors, from conception onwards, may influence this phenotype. Epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation have been proposed to underlie variation in sleep or may be an early-life marker of sleep disturbances.

Actigraphic sleep and cortisol in middle childhood: A multivariate behavioral genetics model.

To date, behavioral genetic studies investigated either sleep or cortisol levels in middle childhood, but not both simultaneously. Therefore, a pertinent question is the degree to which genetic factors and environmental factor contribute to the correlation between sleep and cortisol levels. To address this question, we employed the classical twin design.

Cognitive performance in children and adolescents with psychopathology traits: A cross-sectional multicohort study in the general population.

Psychopathology and cognitive development are closely related. Assessing the relationship between multiple domains of psychopathology and cognitive performance can elucidate which cognitive tasks are related to specific domains of psychopathology. This can help build theory and improve clinical decision-making in the future.

Estimated all-day and evening whole-brain radiofrequency electromagnetic fields doses, and sleep in preadolescents.

Objective: To investigate the association of estimated all-day and evening whole-brain radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) doses with sleep disturbances and objective sleep measures in preadolescents.

Methods: We included preadolescents aged 9-12 years from two population-based birth cohorts, the Dutch Generation R Study (n = 974) and the Spanish INfancia y Medio Ambiente Project (n = 868). All-day and evening overall whole-brain RF-EMF doses (mJ/kg/day) were estimated for several RF-EMF sources including mobile and Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) phone calls (named phone calls), other mobile phone uses, tablet use, laptop use (named screen activities), and far-field sources.

[Psychopathology, risk factors and possible interventions in the early years: Dutch cohort research].

Background Multiple factors contribute to the development of psychiatric disorders. Aim To discuss factors in pregnancy and early childhood that contribute to the development of psychiatric problems. Method Overview of the findings of four major Dutch child cohorts.

Sleep characteristics across the lifespan in 1.1 million people from the Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

We aimed to obtain reliable reference charts for sleep duration, estimate the prevalence of sleep complaints across the lifespan and identify risk indicators of poor sleep. Studies were identified through systematic literature search in Embase, Medline and Web of Science (9 August 2019) and through personal contacts. Eligible studies had to be published between 2000 and 2017 with data on sleep assessed with questionnaires including ≥100 participants from the general population.

Intergenerational transmission: Theoretical and methodological issues and an introduction to four Dutch cohorts.

Behaviors, traits and characteristics are transmitted from parents to offspring because of complex genetic and non-genetic processes. We review genetic and non-genetic mechanisms of intergenerational transmission of psychopathology and parenting and focus on recent methodological advances in disentangling genetic and non-genetic factors. In light of this review, we propose that future studies on intergenerational transmission should aim to disentangle genetic and non-genetic transmission, take a long-term longitudinal perspective, and focus on paternal and maternal intergenerational transmission.

Genome-wide DNA methylation patterns associated with sleep and mental health in children: a population-based study.

Background: DNA methylation (DNAm) has been implicated in the biology of sleep. Yet, how DNAm patterns across the genome relate to different sleep outcomes, and whether these associations overlap with mental health is currently unknown. Here, we investigated associations of DNAm with sleep and mental health in a pediatric population.

Classifying Pubertal Development Using Child and Parent Report: Comparing the Pubertal Development Scales to Tanner Staging.

Purpose: This project investigated internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the frequently used Pubertal Development Scale (PDS) and compared parent and child reports with clinician-rated Tanner staging.

Methods: Using a repository of data collected from 1995 to 2016, 252 participants (aged 7.8-17.

Executive functioning and neurodevelopmental disorders in early childhood: a prospective population-based study.

Background: Executive functioning deficits are common in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. However, prior research mainly focused on clinical populations employing cross-sectional designs, impeding conclusions on temporal neurodevelopmental pathways. Here, we examined the prospective association of executive functioning with subsequent autism spectrum disorder (ASD) traits and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) traits.

Association of Sleep Problems and Melatonin Use in School-aged Children.

This cross-sectional study examines subjectively and objectively assessed sleep and melatonin use in children.

Childhood sleep disturbances and white matter microstructure in preadolescence.

Background: Sleep problems occur in up to 30% of children and have been associated with adverse developmental outcomes. However, due to a lack of longitudinal neuroimaging studies, the neurobiological changes that may underlie some of these associations have remained unclear. This study explored the association between sleep problems during childhood and white matter (WM) microstructure in preadolescence.

Preschool family irregularity and the development of sleep problems in childhood: a longitudinal study.

Background: Previous studies have shown that poor family environments are related to more sleep problems; however, little is known about how family irregularity in early life affects the development of sleep problems over childhood using objective sleep measures. The current study tests the hypothesis that early family irregularity contributes to the development of sleep problems.

Methods: This population-based study comprises 5,443 children from the Generation R Study.

During day and night: Childhood psychotic experiences and objective and subjective sleep problems.

Background: Psychotic experiences comprise auditory and visual perceptive phenomena, such as hearing or seeing things that are not there, in the absence of a psychotic disorder. Psychotic experiences commonly occur in the general pediatric population. Although the majority of psychotic experiences are transient, they are predictive of future psychotic and non-psychotic disorders.

Psychotic-like experiences in pre-adolescence: what precedes the antecedent symptoms of severe mental illness?

Objective: Adolescent psychotic-like experiences predict the onset of psychosis, but also predict subsequent non-psychotic disorders. Therefore, it is crucial to better understand the aetiology of psychotic-like experiences. This study examined whether (a) child emotional and behavioural problems at 3 and 6 years, or (b) childhood adversities were associated with psychotic-like experiences at age 10 years.