Longitudinal intergenerational birth cohort designs: a systematic review of Australian and New Zealand studies

Townsend, Michelle, Riepsamen, Angelique, Georgiou, Christos, Flood, Victoria M., Caputi, Peter, Wright, Ian M., Davis, Warren S., Jones, Alison, Larkin, Theresa A., Williamson, Moira J., and Grenyer, Brin F.S. (2016) Longitudinal intergenerational birth cohort designs: a systematic review of Australian and New Zealand studies. PLoS ONE, 11 (3). e0150491.

[img]
Preview
PDF (Published Version) - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (449kB) | Preview
View at Publisher Website: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.015...
 
18
521


Abstract

Background: The longitudinal birth cohort design has yielded a substantial contribution to knowledge of child health and development. The last full review in New Zealand and Australia in 2004 identified 13 studies. Since then, birth cohort designs continue to be an important tool in understanding how intrauterine, infant and childhood development affect long-term health and well-being. This updated review in a defined geographical area was conducted to better understand the factors associated with successful quality and productivity, and greater scientific and policy contribution and scope.

Methods: We adopted the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) approach, searching PubMed, Scopus, Cinahl, Medline, Science Direct and ProQuest between 1963 and 2013. Experts were consulted regarding further studies. Five inclusion criteria were used: (1) have longitudinally tracked a birth cohort, (2) have collected data on the child and at least one parent or caregiver (3) be based in Australia or New Zealand, (4) be empirical in design, and (5) have been published in English.

Results: 10665 records were initially retrieved from which 23 birth cohort studies met the selection criteria. Together these studies recruited 91, 196 participants, with 38, 600 mothers, 14, 206 fathers and 38,390 live births. Seventeen studies were located in Australia and six in New Zealand. Research questions initially focused on the perinatal period, but as studies matured, longer-term effects and outcomes were examined.

Conclusions: This review demonstrates the significant yield from this effort both in terms of scientific discovery and social policy impact. Further opportunities have been recognised with crossstudy collaboration and pooling of data between established and newer studies and international studies to investigate global health determinants.

Item ID: 62806
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1932-6203
Copyright Information: © 2016 Townsend et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in anymedium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Date Deposited: 08 Jun 2022 02:12
FoR Codes: 32 BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL SCIENCES > 3213 Paediatrics > 321303 Neonatology @ 100%
SEO Codes: 20 HEALTH > 2005 Specific population health (excl. Indigenous health) > 200506 Neonatal and child health @ 100%
Downloads: Total: 521
Last 12 Months: 4
More Statistics

Actions (Repository Staff Only)

Item Control Page Item Control Page