November research highlights

A round-up of selected journal papers and other research published in November using CLS study data.

Daily activity of primary school children

Research using the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) Age 7 survey data has investigated the daily physical activity of primary school children. The paper, published in PLOS One, was a collaboration between a team of researchers based at UCL, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of South Carolina. They found that, on average, girls were less active than boys throughout the day, particularly during school break times. They also identified behavioural changes that could help to increase the activity levels of children, such as participation in sport and exercise and walking to and from school. Read more here

Housing conditions and birth outcomes

A new article published in Environmental Research looked at the relationship between housing conditions and birthweight of children.The paper, authored by Emily Harville and Felicia Rabito, used data from the National Child Development Study (NCDS) Age 33 sweep. They found that womenwho reported having mould in their home, were more likely to give birth to a baby who weighed less than 5.5 lbs. Read more here

Childhood vaccination programmes

A new paper published in Vaccine has examined the uptake and timeliness of infant booster vaccines, including MMR and tetanus. Linking MCS age 7 study data to health records, researchers based at UCL and Swansea University found that while 94 per cent of children received the first dose of primary vaccines early, or on time, this was lower for subsequent doses (82% for the second dose and 65% for the third dose). Read more here

Depressive symptoms in fathers and children

New research from UCL, Northwestern University, USA and University College Dublin has studied the relationships between the mental health of fathers and their children. Using data from both the MCS Age 7 survey and the Growing up in Ireland cohort study, the paper was published in the Lancet Psychiatry. The results revealed an association between depressive symptoms in fathers and in their adolescent children. . Read more here