Factors influencing language performance in boys and girls at age 2 in the French ELFE birth cohort.

Different environmental and biological variables affect the rhythm of language acquisition in children. A substantial amount of literature has shown that girls overtake boys, at least in the early stages of language acquisition. The goal of this study is to investigate how different factors affect language scores in girls and boys.

Meta-analysis of epigenome-wide associations between DNA methylation at birth and childhood cognitive skills.

Cognitive skills are a strong predictor of a wide range of later life outcomes. Genetic and epigenetic associations across the genome explain some of the variation in general cognitive abilities in the general population and it is plausible that epigenetic associations might arise from prenatal environmental exposures and/or genetic variation early in life. We investigated the association between cord blood DNA methylation at birth and cognitive skills assessed in children from eight pregnancy cohorts within the Pregnancy And Childhood Epigenetics (PACE) Consortium across overall (total N = 2196), verbal (total N = 2206) and non-verbal cognitive scores (total N = 3300).

Exposure to screens and children's language development in the EDEN mother-child cohort.

Studies in children have reported associations of screen time and background TV on language skills as measured by their parents. However, few large, longitudinal studies have examined language skills assessed by trained psychologists, which is less prone to social desirability. We assessed screen time and exposure to TV during family meals at ages 2, 3 and 5-6 years in 1562 children from the French EDEN cohort.

Is Handedness at Five Associated with Prenatal Factors?

The goal of the study was to investigate some of the factors suspected to be related to children's handedness: presentation during the last weeks of gestation and at birth (cephalic or breech), side of presentation (right or left), number of weeks of gestation, season of birth, parents' handedness and sex. We analyzed the relationships between these factors and the child's handedness at five years. Children ( = 1897) from the EDEN cohort participated in the study, among which 1129 were tested for handedness at five.

Developmental trajectories of motor skills during the preschool period.

Children with developmental coordination disorder also manifest difficulties in non-motor domains (attentional, emotional, behavioral and socialization skills). Longitudinal studies can help disentangle the complex relationships between the development of motor skills and other cognitive domains. This study aims to examine the contribution of early cognitive factors to changes in motor skills during the preschool period.

Prenatal Exposure to Nonpersistent Endocrine Disruptors and Behavior in Boys at 3 and 5 Years.

Background: Sex-specific associations have been reported between phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), and child behavior. No data on large study populations are available for other phenols with possible endocrine-disrupting properties.

Objectives: We aimed to study associations between prenatal exposure to phthalates and several phenols on behavior among male infants.

Breastfeeding, Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Levels in Colostrum and Child Intelligence Quotient at Age 5-6 Years.

Objective: To examine the relationship of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) in breast milk with children's IQ.

Study Design: In the French Etude des Déterminants pré- et postnatals précoces du développement et de la santé de l'Enfant (EDEN) mother-child cohort, colostrum samples were collected at the maternity unit. Colostrum omega-6 and omega-3 PUFA were analyzed by gas chromatography.

Long-term motor, functional, and academic outcome following childhood ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke: A large rehabilitation center-based retrospective study.

Objective: To study the long-term outcomes following childhood ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.

Methods: This was a retrospective study, looking at children consecutively admitted to a rehabilitation department following childhood stroke. We collected demographic, medical, and severity data, motor deficit, cognitive assessment, and long-term academic outcome.

Persistent maternal depressive symptoms trajectories influence children's IQ: The EDEN mother-child cohort.

Background: This study assessed the association between timing and course of maternal depression from pregnancy onwards and children's cognitive development at ages 5 to 6. Potential interaction effects with child sex and family socioeconomic status were explored.

Methods: One thousand thirty-nine mother-child pairs from the French EDEN mother-child birth cohort were followed from 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy onwards.

Executive function after severe childhood traumatic brain injury - Age-at-injury vulnerability periods: The TGE prospective longitudinal study.

Background: Executive function (EF) impairment is a major predictor of overall outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI severity is a factor of poor outcome, but most studies include a majority of children with mild and moderate TBI. The aims of this study were to estimate EF impairment after severe childhood TBI and to explore factors predicting EF outcome.

Social Withdrawal Behaviour at One Year of Age Is Associated with Delays in Reaching Language Milestones in the EDEN Mother-Child Cohort Study.

Objective: The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between social withdrawal behaviour at one year and motor and language milestones.

Materials And Methods: One-year old children from the EDEN French population-based birth cohort study (Study on the pre- and postnatal determinants of the child's development and prospective health Birth Cohort Study) were included. Social withdrawal at one year was assessed by trained midwives using the Alarm Distress BaBy (ADBB) scale.

Prenatal Caffeine Exposure and Child IQ at Age 5.5 Years: The EDEN Mother-Child Cohort.

Background: Evidence from animal studies suggests maternal caffeine intake during pregnancy has detrimental effects on subsequent brain development in offspring. However, human data in this area are limited. The aim of this study was to assess whether caffeine intake by women during pregnancy is associated with impaired cognitive development in offspring at age 5.

The association between linoleic acid levels in colostrum and child cognition at 2 and 3 y in the EDEN cohort.

Background: Breastfeeding has been associated with improved cognitive development. This may be explained by polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content of breast milk, especially long-chain (LC) PUFA that are needed for postnatal brain growth.

Methods: Using data from the French EDEN cohort, we aimed to study whether the PUFA content of colostrum may explain observed associations between breastfeeding duration and cognitive scores at 2 and 3 y.

Air pollution during pregnancy and childhood cognitive and psychomotor development: six European birth cohorts.

Background: Accumulating evidence from laboratory animal and human studies suggests that air pollution exposure during pregnancy affects cognitive and psychomotor development in childhood.

Methods: We analyzed data from 6 European population-based birth cohorts-GENERATION R (The Netherlands), DUISBURG (Germany), EDEN (France), GASPII (Italy), RHEA (Greece), and INMA (Spain)-that recruited mother-infant pairs from 1997 to 2008. Air pollution levels-nitrogen oxides (NO2, NOx) in all regions and particulate matter (PM) with diameters of <2.

Predicting changes in language skills between 2 and 3 years in the EDEN mother-child cohort.

Objective. To examine the factors predicting changes in language skills between 2 and 3 years. Methods.

The dietary n6:n3 fatty acid ratio during pregnancy is inversely associated with child neurodevelopment in the EDEN mother-child cohort.

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) of the n6 (ω6) and n3 series are essential for the development of a child's brain. Fetal LC-PUFA exposure as well as infant exposure via breast milk depend on the maternal intake of these LC-PUFAs and of their respective dietary precursors (PUFAs). We aimed to investigate the associations between maternal LC-PUFA and PUFA [(LC)PUFA] dietary intake during pregnancy and child neurodevelopment at ages 2 and 3 y.

Breastfeeding duration and cognitive development at 2 and 3 years of age in the EDEN mother-child cohort.

Objective: To investigate the dose-response relationship between breastfeeding duration and cognitive development in French preschool children.

Study Design: In the French EDEN Mother-Child Cohort Study, we evaluated language ability with the Communicative Development Inventory (CDI) in 1387 2-year-old children and overall development with the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) in 1199 3-year-old children. Assessments were compared between breastfed and non-breastfed children and also according to breastfeeding duration in multivariable linear models, controlling for a wide range of potential confounders.

Emergency tracheal intubation of severely head-injured children: changing daily practice after implementation of national guidelines.

Objective: To report daily practice of scene emergency tracheal intubation performed by physicians and changes induced by implementation of national guidelines, with special attention to rapid sequence induction (RSI) and control of assisted ventilation.

Design: Observational study.

Setting: Pediatric intensive care unit of a university hospital.

Assessment of visuo-attentional abilities in young children with or without visual disorder: toward a systematic screening in the general population.

In young children, visual attention, analysis or memory is only rarely evaluated. Moreover, tools to test for such higher-order visual capacities in children are limited. In an attempt to develop and refine such tools, we selected nine tests to assess visuo-attentional abilities before formal reading education (grade 1).

Egocentric reference in bidirectional readers as measured by the straight-ahead pointing task.

The present study aimed to show that bidirectional reading and language exposure influence the position of egocentric reference (ER), the perceived direction of the body's sagittal axis proposed to act as an anchor for movements in extracorporeal space. Directional factors (e.g.

Assessment of unilateral spatial neglect in children using the Teddy Bear Cancellation Test.

The purpose of the study was to provide normative data for the Teddy Bear Cancellation Test (TBCT) and to evaluate prospectively the frequency of unilateral spatial neglect (USN) in children with acquired brain injury (ABI). In the control group (n = 419; 218 males, 201 females; mean age 5y 1mo [SD 1y 4mo]; range 3 to 8y) omissions were rare and decreased with age. A left displacement of the first three teddy bears cancelled was observed with increasing age.

Manual skill, hand skill asymmetry, and cognitive performances in young children.

A total of 1022 children aged 3 to 6 years were examined in their preschools and 27% of them were followed up for 2 years. A computerised version of the peg-moving task was used repeatedly to assess hand skill of the dominant and the nondominant hand. Cognitive performance was repeatedly evaluated by tasks involving speech, vocabulary, phonological memory, and visual-spatial skills.

The influence of handedness on profile and line drawing directionality in children, young, and older normal adults.

One hundred twenty-two normal subjects--children, young and older adults (77 right-handers and 45 left-handers)--performed two drawing tasks in order to study their directionality trends. The first task consisted of drawing the profile of a face and in the second task subjects had to link two points in order to draw a line. The analysis of the drawing directionality revealed a significant effect of the age when right-handers drew profiles whereas this effect reached significance in left-handed subjects only when drawing lines.