News in 2016
- Picky eaters eating enough but falling short on their five a day 1 December 2016 New research on over 7,000 participants in Children of the 90s has found that children described by their parents as picky eaters are getting enough to eat overall but tend to eat less fruit and veg and to consume more sugary foods and drinks than non-picky eaters. They also consume less carotene, iron and zinc that kids who aren’t fussy about food.
- Dads who embrace parenthood have kids less prone to behavioural issues 23 November 2016 Children whose fathers adjusted well to parenthood and felt confident about their new role may be less likely to have behavioural problems in the run-up to their teens, indicates the 1,500th research paper from Children of the 90s.
- ALSPAC shortlisted for UK Biobank of the Year Award 17 November 2016 We're delighted to announce that we were nominated for the UK Biobank of the Year Award!
- Suicidal people need better online support 10 November 2016 Improve clinicians’ understanding of the online world, review web-based support services for vulnerable people and safeguard the public against pro-suicide content. Those are some of the recommendations being put to the internet industry, health providers and suicide-prevention services after researchers mapped how people with suicidal feelings use the internet.
- Insomnia more common in teens whose mums had postnatal depression 20 October 2016 More than a third (36%) of teenagers whose mothers suffered from postnatal depression experienced sleep problems at the age of 18, compared to only one in five (22%) teenagers whose mothers didn’t suffer from postnatal depression.
- Children of the 90s: the next generation reaches 500 13 October 2016 2016 marks a double celebration for Children of the 90s: the 25th anniversary of the world-famous health-research project and the imminent arrival of the 500th COCO90s baby.
- How baby’s genes influence birth weight and later life disease 28 September 2016 Genetic differences could help explain why some babies are born bigger or smaller than others, according to new research from the Early Growth Genetics (EGG) Consortium, an international collaboration of researchers including experts from Children of the 90s and the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol.
- Children of the 90s welcomes 2,000th visitor to Focus@24+ 27 September 2016 Children of the 90s recently welcomed Jack from Swindon (pictured right) through its doors to attend its latest Focus clinic – a day-long series of tests and scans, from blood pressure, liver and heart checks to a 3D body scan using the latest cutting-edge technology.
- Children of the 90s data cited in government’s child obesity strategy 13 September 2016 Research into the rise in obesity across five generations – including participants in Children of the 90s – has been cited in the government’s child obesity strategy, Childhood obesity: a plan for action.
- Children of the 90s researcher involved in new €10m research project 6 September 2016 Congratulations to Professor Debbie Lawlor, who runs the Focus on Mothers and COCO90s (Children of the Children of the 90s) studies at Children of the 90s (ALSPAC); she is a co-investigator and work package lead on a new Horizon 2020 award: LIFECYCLE.
- Experience Children of the 90s data in virtual reality at the Science Museum 15 July 2016 Children of the 90s data is presented in virtual reality (VR) as part of Our Lives in Data, a new exhibition at the Science Museum in London.
- Prenatal stress can affect child’s mental health 21 June 2016 Expectant mothers who experience stressful life events during pregnancy are more likely to have children who develop depression in adolescence, according to new research on Children of the 90s.
- Genes provide new insights into the causes of migraine 20 June 2016 An international research consortium has identified 28 new genetic risk factors for common migraine, bringing the total known to 38.
- Cycle training for children has benefits in adolescence 9 June 2016 In a large-scale UK study of cycling and related safety behaviours, researchers from Children of the 90s (University of Bristol) have found that children who did a National Cycle Proficiency Scheme (NCPS, now Bikeability) course in primary school were more likely than children who didn’t do a course to:
- £1.75M to explore gene’s role in dementia risk 7 June 2016 The Medical Research Council (MRC) has awarded scientists at Cardiff, Bristol and Oxford a £1.75 million grant to work with Children of the 90s to study how a specific genetic variant known to increase risk for dementia affects the brain.
- Moving school may increase risk of psychotic symptoms in late teens 24 May 2016 Hallucinations, delusions and disturbed thoughts in 18-year-olds may in part be due to frequently moving school as a child.
- Four in 10 premature babies score low at KS4 18 May 2016 New research funded by the Southmead Hospital Charity Research Fund shows that almost four in 10 children (39.4%) born prematurely (before 37 weeks) had lower Key Stage 4 (KS4) test results than children who were born at full term (37-42 weeks) and almost a quarter (24.3%) preterm children had special educational needs (SEN).
- Placenta size and child bone development linked 12 May 2016 A larger placenta during pregnancy could result in children having larger bones, according to a new study by the universities of Southampton and Bristol that used data from over 500 participants in Children of the 90s.
- Early walking in toddlers linked to stronger bones 11 May 2016 Children who start to walk and jump earlier are more likely to have stronger bones later on in life, according to research on data from 2,327 participants in Children of the 90s.
- Born Talking seminar, Monday 11 July 3 May 2016 The Born Talking seminar series is a series of events that focus on using birth cohort data* to address questions about typical and atypical speech, language and communication. The fifth event in the series will take place in collaboration with ALSPAC and Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit on Monday 11 July 2016 at Canynge Hall, University of Bristol, 39 Whatley Road, Bristol BS8 2PS.
- Stress leads to longer, later bedwetting 12 April 2016 In the largest study of its kind to date, researchers have confirmed that high levels of family stress in early life can cause children to wet the bed for prolonged and persistent periods of time.
- Why it’s good to eat your greens 1 March 2016 Pre-school children whose parents considered them to be ‘very choosy’ about food (‘picky eaters’) ate less dietary fibre and were 30 per cent more likely to be constipated than those who were ‘never choosy’ (‘non-picky eaters’).
- Doctors say 40,000 deaths a year linked to air pollution 23 February 2016 Today a new landmark report from the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) starkly sets out the dangerous impact air pollution is currently having on our nation’s health – with around 40,000 deaths a year linked to air pollution.
- The educational – and economic – benefits of breastfeeding 18 February 2016 Researchers have found that children who were breastfed for six months or longer were more likely to achieve five good GCSEs, even after a comprehensive range of socio-economic factors were taken into account. They estimate (based on current UK income statistics) that the lifetime gross income for those children would be almost £8,800 higher than those who were never breastfed.
- What is the relationship between violent video games and aggression in children? 28 January 2016 Worries about the negative effects of playing video games often appear in the news, and there are concerns that children playing such games may develop aggressive or violent tendencies later on. However, the research behind these claims is often conflicting, and the actual effects of playing video games are not well understood.
- 1 in 50 16-year-olds affected by chronic fatigue syndrome 25 January 2016 In what is believed to be the biggest study of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) – also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) – in children to date, researchers at the University of Bristol, have found that almost 2 per cent of 16-year-olds have CFS lasting more than six months and nearly 3 per cent have CFS lasting more than three months (the UK definition). Those with CFS missed, on average, more than half a day of school every week.
