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Pre- and perinatal factors and the risk of subsequent referral for hyperactivity
C A Chandola1, M R Robling, T J Peters
1Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Wales College of Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff, U.K.
Insights
Certain birth factors like maternal age and labor complications may slightly increase hyperactivity referral risk. However, these factors have limited predictive power for identifying children at risk.
Area of Science:
- Perinatal Medicine
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Hyperactivity is a common concern in child development.
- Identifying early risk factors for hyperactivity referral is crucial for timely intervention.
- Previous studies have explored various pre- and perinatal influences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate potential pre- and perinatal risk factors associated with subsequent referral for hyperactivity.
- To determine if socio-demographic variables confound the relationship between birth factors and hyperactivity referral.
Main Methods:
- A cohort study design was employed, comparing 129 hyperactivity referrals with 24,656 individuals from a defined birth cohort.
- Logistic regression analysis was used to assess relationships between risk factors.
- Socio-demographic variables were included to control for confounding.
Main Results:
- Significant associations were found between hyperactivity referral and social class, maternal age, antepartum hemorrhage, second stage of labor, 1-minute Apgar score, and sex.
- These associations persisted after accounting for socio-demographic factors.
- The overall predictive power of the identified factors remained low.
Conclusions:
- Specific pre- and perinatal factors demonstrate a statistically significant association with hyperactivity referral.
- These factors appear to have a modest etiological role in hyperactivity.
- The identified risk factors have limited utility in predicting hyperactivity referral due to low predictive power.
Abstract:
Possible pre- and perinatal risk factors for subsequent referral for hyperactivity were assessed by comparing birth records of 129 referrals with the remaining 24,656 members of a geographically defined birth cohort. Relationships between the risk factors were accounted for using logistic regression methods. The significant factors were: social class, maternal age, antepartum haemorrhage, length of labour (second stage), 1-min Apgar and sex. Associations between referral for hyperactivity and the pregnancy, labour and birth outcome factors were not explained by the socio-demographic variables. The results suggest that such factors have a statistically significant association with referral for hyperactivity and may be of modest aetiological importance. However, the predictive power of the final set of factors remained low even on the original data set.