Publications by authors named "Christine Hockett"

Background: American Indian youth experience a high risk of overweight/obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of a behavioural intervention on diabetes risk factors among American Indian youth with overweight/obesity.

Methods: Between 2018 and 2023, youth (7-10 years) were randomised to the tribal turning point (TTP) intervention (n = 87) or control arm (n = 95).

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Background: Low vitamin D concentrations are common-especially among those with darker pigmented skin-and are frequently observed during pregnancy. Given its important role in brain development, inadequate gestational vitamin D may impair child cognitive development.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate associations of gestational vitamin D concentrations with childhood cognitive scores, explore whether this relationship differs by self-reported race, and examine sensitive exposure windows within pregnancy.

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Introduction: Understanding factors associated with hesitancy about pediatric COVID-19 vaccination is important for identifying strategies to improve vaccination rates. Our objective was to describe beliefs about COVID-19 vaccination among caregivers who had not yet vaccinated their children against COVID-19.

Methods: From July 2022 to February 2023, caregivers of children unvaccinated for COVID-19 across 15 states within the IDeA States Pediatrics Clinical Trial Network were recruited into a randomized, controlled trial of a COVID-19 vaccine communication phone app.

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Importance: Identifying atypical body mass index (BMI) trajectories in children and understanding associated, modifiable early-life factors may help prevent childhood obesity.

Objective: To characterize multiphase BMI trajectories in children and identify associated modifiable early-life factors.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study included longitudinal data obtained from January 1997 to June 2024, from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) cohort, which included children aged 1 to 9 years with 4 or more weight and height assessments.

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Purpose: The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort has enrolled over 60,000 children to examine how early environmental factors (broadly defined) are associated with key child health outcomes. The ECHO Cohort may be well-positioned to contribute to our understanding of rural environments and contexts, which has implications for rural health disparities research. The present study examined the outcome of child obesity to not only illustrate the suitability of ECHO Cohort data for these purposes but also determine how various definitions of rural and urban populations impact the presentation of findings and their interpretation.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study explores how maternal mood disorders (anxiety and depression) and substance use (alcohol and tobacco) during pregnancy affect children's executive function (EF), particularly inhibitory control and working memory, amidst socioeconomic challenges.
  • Researchers analyzed data from 334 mother-child pairs, measuring prenatal mental health, substance use, and assessing children's EF using standardized tests at ages 3-5.
  • Results indicated that higher maternal anxiety and moderate to high tobacco use were linked to poorer inhibitory control in children, highlighting the importance of addressing maternal mental health and substance use during pregnancy for child development.
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Article Synopsis
  • Scientists are trying to understand how certain factors might affect the health of mothers and babies, especially when it comes to birth weight.
  • They studied data from over 28,000 mother-baby pairs to see how being exposed to certain environmental factors could impact birth weight and the chances of low birth weight.
  • They found that small changes in exposure have a bigger effect on vulnerable groups, showing that these groups face more health challenges than others.
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Background: Empirical evidence has demonstrated associations between pre-pregnancy obesity and perinatal maternal depressive symptoms. Omega-3 is an essential fatty acid derived from dietary sources that is critical for fetal brain development. Pre-pregnancy obesity is associated with higher omega-3 intake, but a weaker association between dietary intake and respective maternal and cord blood omega-3 levels.

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Background: Prenatal fish intake is a key source of omega-3 (ω-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids needed for brain development, yet intake is generally low, and studies addressing associations with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related traits are lacking.

Objective: This study aimed to examine associations of prenatal fish intake and ω-3 supplement use with both autism diagnosis and broader autism-related traits.

Methods: Participants were drawn from 32 cohorts in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Cohort Consortium.

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This study aimed to determine the prevalence of breastfeeding initiation and continuation at two months postpartum in American Indian (AI) mothers in South Dakota and to identify factors associated with breastfeeding. Using logistic regression, data from the South Dakota Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System were used to investigate the relationship between binary breastfeeding initiation and continuation outcomes and maternal behaviors and experiences including access to health care, safe sleep practices, ability to handle life events, depression, and sources of breastfeeding information. Higher odds of initiation were seen for factors including access to health care services, ability to handle life events, and sources of breastfeeding information, while lower odds were seen for factors including safe sleep.

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Objective: -3 fatty acid consumption during pregnancy is recommended for optimal pregnancy outcomes and offspring health. We examined characteristics associated with self-reported fish or -3 supplement intake.

Design: Pooled pregnancy cohort studies.

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Using data from a longitudinal cohort of children, we examined whether epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) was associated with pubertal growth and whether these associations were mediated by adiposity. We examined associations between EAA at approximately 10 years of age with pubertal growth metrics, including age at peak height velocity (PHV), PHV, and sex steroid levels and whether these associations were mediated by measures of adiposity including body mass index (BMI) and MRI-assessed visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT). Children (n = 135) with accelerated EAA had higher PHV (β 0.

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Importance: Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and prenatal tobacco exposure (PTE) are risk factors associated with adverse neurobehavioral and cognitive outcomes.

Objective: To quantify long-term associations of PAE and PTE with brain activity in early and middle childhood via electroencephalography (EEG).

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study included participants enrolled in the Safe Passage Study (August 2007 to January 2015), from which a subset of 649 participants were followed up in the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes Program.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study examines the link between breastfeeding practices and child BMI (body mass index) in relation to mothers' BMI, particularly focusing on women with obesity.* -
  • Data from 8,134 mother-child pairs showed that longer breastfeeding duration was associated with lower child BMIz scores across all maternal BMI categories (underweight, healthy weight, overweight, obese).* -
  • The findings suggest that breastfeeding may serve as an effective strategy to reduce the risk of obesity in children, regardless of the mother's BMI status.*
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Introduction: The effect of prenatal cannabis exposure (PCE) on childhood neurodevelopment remains poorly understood. There is a paucity of studies describing the neurodevelopment impact of PCE in infancy. The Mullen Scale of Early Learning (MSEL) is a cognitive screening tool that can be used from birth to 68 months and includes language and motor domains.

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Background: Longitudinal measures of diet spanning pregnancy through adolescence are needed from a large, diverse sample to advance research on the effect of early-life nutrition on child health. The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, which includes 69 cohorts, >33,000 pregnancies, and >31,000 children in its first 7-y cycle, provides such data, now publicly available.

Objectives: This study aimed to describe dietary intake data available in the ECHO Program as of 31 August, 2022 (end of year 6 of Cycle 1) from pregnancy through adolescence, including estimated sample sizes, and to highlight the potential for future analyses of nutrition and child health.

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  • The study investigates how COVID-19-related economic and emotional hardships impact children's experiences of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) reported by their caregivers.
  • Each reported hardship from caregivers correlates with higher ACE scores in children, with significant increases linked to caregiver stress levels and financial strain during the pandemic.
  • The findings suggest that even children without previous ACEs experienced increased adversity due to the pandemic, highlighting the critical impact of family stress on child development.
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Background: Most pregnant women in the United States are at risk of inadequate intake of vitamin A, vitamin D, folic acid, calcium, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids from foods alone. Very few United States dietary supplements provide sufficient doses of all 6 nutrients without inducing excess intake.

Objective: We aimed to identify energy-efficient foods that provide sufficient doses of these nutrients and could be consumed in lieu of dietary supplements to achieve the recommended intake in pregnancy.

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Context: Previous studies have shown that exposure to maternal gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with increased offspring body mass index (BMI) and risk for overweight or obesity.

Objective: This study aimed to explore differences in BMI trajectories among youth exposed or not exposed to maternal GDM and understand whether these associations differ across life stages.

Methods: Data from 403 mother/child dyads (76 exposed; 327 not exposed) participating in the longitudinal Exploring Perinatal Outcomes among Children (EPOCH) study in Colorado were used.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study analyzed the impact of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and maternal depressive symptoms during and after pregnancy on children's behavior, focusing on a large group of 2,379 preschoolers.
  • It found that both GDM and maternal depressive symptoms were linked to higher rates of externalizing and internalizing behavioral issues in children.
  • Notably, GDM was specifically connected to increased autism behaviors, but only in boys and when maternal depressive symptoms were above a certain level.
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To describe satisfaction with the telehealth aspect of a pediatric obesity intervention among families from multiple rural communities and assess differences in satisfaction based on sociodemographic factors. This is a secondary analysis of data from a pilot randomized controlled trial of a 6-month intensive lifestyle intervention (iAmHealthy) delivered through telehealth to children 6-11 years old with BMI ≥85th%ile and their parents from rural communities. Parents completed a sociodemographic survey and a validated survey to assess satisfaction with the telehealth intervention across four domains (technical functioning, comfort of patient and provider with technology and perceived privacy, timely and geographic access to care, and global satisfaction) on a 5-point Likert scale.

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