Health Care Utilisation by Bullying Victims: A Cross-Sectional Study of A 9-Year-Old Cohort in Ireland.

Children frequently refrain from disclosing being bullied. Early identification of bullying by healthcare professionals in children may prevent adverse health consequences. The aim of our study was to determine whether Health Care Utilisation (HCU) is higher in 9-year-olds who report being bullied and factors influencing type of HCU. The study consists of cross-sectional surveys of Child Cohort of Irish National Longitudinal Study of Children (Wave 1), 8,568 9-year-olds, and their carers. Being bullied was assessed by a self-reported questionnaire completed by children at home. HCU outcomes consisted of the following: visits to GP, Mental Health Practitioner (MHP), Emergency Department (ED), and nights in hospital by parent interview. Bivariate logistic regression and gender-stratified Poisson models were used to determine association. Victimisation by bullying independently increased visits to GP (OR 1.13, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03 to 1.25; p = 0.02), MHP (OR 1.31, 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.63; p = 0.02), though not ED visits (OR 0.99, 95% CI: 0.87 to 1.13; p = 0.8) or nights in hospital (OR 1.07 95% CI: 0.97 to 1.18; p = 0.2), adjusting for underlying chronic condition(s) and socio-demographic confounders. Victimised girls made higher GP visits (RR 1.14, 95% CI: 1.06 to 1.23; p < 0.001) and spent more nights in hospital (RR 1.10, 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.15; p < 0.001). Victimised boys were more likely to contact MHPs (RR 1.21, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.44; p = 0.03). 9-year-old bullied subjects were more likely to utilise primary care services than non-bullied 9-year-olds. Different HCU patterns were observed according to gender and gender differences in the presentation of victimisation. Our findings may lead to the development of clinical practice guidelines for early detection and appropriate management of bullied children.

Association between home birth and breast feeding outcomes: a cross-sectional study in 28†125 mother-infant pairs from Ireland and the UK.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between breast feeding outcomes and place of birth (home vs hospital birth). DESIGN: Population-based cross-sectional study. SETTING: Ireland and UK. PARTICIPANTS: 10 604 mother-infant pairs from the Growing Up in Ireland study (GUI, 2008-2009) and 17 521 pairs from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (UKMCS, 2001-2002) at low risk of delivery complications were included in the study. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Breast feeding initiation, exclusivity and duration. RESULTS: Home birth was found to be significantly associated with breast feeding at all examined time points, including at birth, 8 weeks, 6 months and breast feeding exclusively at 6 months. In GUI, adjusted OR was 1.90 (95% CI 1.19 to 3.02), 1.78 (1.18 to 2.69), 1.85 (1.23 to 2.77) and 2.77 (1.78 to 4.33), respectively, and in UKMCS it was 2.49 (1.84 to 3.44), 2.49 (1.92 to 3.26), 2.90 (2.25 to 3.73) and 2.24 (1.14 to 4.03). CONCLUSIONS: Home birth was strongly associated with improved breast feeding outcomes in low-risk deliveries. While the association between home birth and breast feeding is unlikely to be directly causal, further research is needed to determine which factor(s) drive the observed differences, to facilitate development of perinatal care that supports breast feeding.

The Association Between Infant Temperament and Breastfeeding Duration: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the relationship between infant temperament and breastfeeding. The few studies investigating this report mixed results. Some suggest that difficult infants are breastfed for shorter duration, others report opposing results or no association between the two. AIM: This study investigated associations between infant difficult temperament and breastfeeding duration in a nationally representative cohort of Irish 9-month-old infants. METHODS: Breastfed, normal birth-weight singletons from The Infant Cohort of the Growing Up in Ireland Study (n = 5,955) were considered in this research. The Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (ICQ), completed by the mother, was used to assess four different dimensions of difficult temperament: fussy, unpredictable, unadaptable, and dull. Our main interest was the fussy dimension as this is captured best by the ICQ. Initially, a logistic regression (LR) model having the binary version, short (<90 days) or long breastfeeding (≥90 days) as outcome variable, was constructed. Next, a proportional odds logistic regression (POLR) model examining the five-level categorical version (≤1 week, 2 weeks-<1 month, 1-<3 months, 3-<6 months, and ≥6 months) of breastfeeding duration was developed. All regression models were adjusted for relevant sociodemographic data. RESULTS: A total of 3,119 infants were breastfed for less than 90 days, while 2,836 were breastfed for 90 days or longer. The LR and POLR models showed a mild inverse association between infant fussiness/difficultness and breastfeeding duration (LR: OR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97-0.99, POLR: OR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97-0.99). Higher infant unpredictability is associated with longer breastfeeding duration (LR: OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02-1.07, POLR: OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02-1.06). CONCLUSIONS: In this cross-sectional study, we found that breastfeeding duration was inversely associated with infant fussiness and positively associated with infant unpredictability.

Dental amalgam: is this the end?

Dental amalgam is a reliable and effective restorative material with a well-established role in modern dentistry. Throughout the years its mercury content and the risks posed to human health were main topics of interest for many scientists. This paper offers a review of the scientific literature on the health and environmental impact of mercury in dentistry published over the last decade. A variety of peer-reviewed, epidemiological and large-scale clinical studies on dental amalgam, as well as published reports of professional and governmental bodies, were organised thematically and analysed. The most relevant findings of the aforementioned literature are reported. No reliance has been placed on unpublished work or publicly available opinions that are not scientifically based. In order to offer an appropriate view on the topic the toxicology, health impacts and possible environmental threats are briefly presented in relation to the relevant literature published in the last ten years. It is almost unanimously accepted that dental amalgam is a safe material, with little or insignificant adverse effect on general health. However, current and mostly unfounded environmental concerns may result in the implementation of new across the board legislation that could lead to a global dental amalgam "phase out".