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IntroductionNeurocognitive deficits have been identified in eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. However, current data do not allow for firm conclusions regarding the nature or extent of these deficits. The current study aimed to evaluate neurocognitive functioning in a population-based sample of adolescents with and without eating disorders. MethodsParticipants (N=669) were drawn from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study. Cognitive testing was conducted using the computerised CogState assessment battery. Eating disorder symptoms were assessed using questions adapted from the Child Eating Disorder Examination and Eating Disorder Examination–Questionnaire. Adolescents who met full or partial criteria for a DSM-IV eating disorder (n=58) were compared to adolescents with no significant eating pathology (n=592). ResultsThe eating disorder sample showed impaired performance on measures of executive functioning, including global processing and set shifting, but performed better than control participants on measures of visual attention and vigilance. ConclusionsThis is the first study to evaluate neurocognitive functioning in a population-based sample of adolescents with eating disorders. Support is provided for weak central coherence and set-shifting difficulties early in the course of eating disorders. Research is needed to determine if these deficits precede and predict eating disorder onset. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present study investigated the relations among fetal testosterone, child socio-emotional engagement and language development in a sample of 467 children (235 boys) from the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study. Bioavailable testosterone concentration measured in umbilical cord blood taken at birth was found to be significantly negatively correlated with socio-emotional engagement and vocabulary development for boys but not for girls. Socio-emotional engagement mediated the effect of boys' fetal testosterone levels on their vocabulary development. However, the size of the effects was small, and fetal testosterone and socio-emotional engagement were no longer significant predictors of boys' vocabulary scores after accounting for the effects of other predictors including maternal age and education, parity, and parent-child book reading. It is concluded that further research into these associations is warranted in both typical and atypical development and that this research would profit from including a broader focus on the role that proximal processes such as socio-emotional engagement, joint attention and imitation have in mediating the developmental effects of prenatal factors such as fetal testosterone exposure. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Preliminary evidence suggests that prenatal testosterone exposure may be associated with language delay. However, no study has examined a large sample of children at multiple time-points. Methods: Umbilical cord blood samples were obtained at 861 births and analysed for bioavailable testosterone (BioT) concentrations. When participating offspring were 1, 2 and 3 years of age, parents of 767 children (males = 395; females = 372) completed the Infant Monitoring Questionnaire (IMQ), which measures Communication, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Adaptive and Personal-Social development. Cut-off scores are available for each scale at each age to identify children with 'clinically significant' developmental delays. Chi-square analyses and generalized estimating equations examined longitudinal associations between sex-specific quartiles of BioT concentrations and the rate of developmental delay. Results: Significantly more males than females had language delay (Communication scale) at age 1, 2 and 3 years ( p-values ≤. 01). Males were also more likely to be classified as delayed on the Fine-Motor ( p = .04) and Personal-Social ( p < .01) scales at age 3 years. Chi-square analyses found a significant difference between BioT quartiles in the rate of language delay (but not Fine-Motor and Personal-Social delay) for males (age 3) and females (age 1 and 3). Generalized estimating equations, incorporating a range of sociodemographic and obstetric variables, found that males in the highest BioT quartile were at increased risk for a clinically significant language delay during the first 3 years of life, with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.47 (95% CI: 1.12, 5.47). By contrast, increasing levels of BioT reduced the risk of language delay among females (Quartile 2: OR = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.09, 0.59; Quartile 4: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.21, 0.99). Conclusion: These data suggest that high prenatal testosterone levels are a risk factor for language delay in males, but may be a protective factor for females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Methodological challenges such as confounding have made the study of the early determinants of mental health morbidity problematic. This study aims to address these challenges in investigating antenatal, perinatal and postnatal risk factors for the development of mental health problems in pre-school children in a cohort of Western Australian children. Methods: The Raine Study is a prospective cohort study of 2,868 live born children involving 2,979 pregnant women recruited at 18 weeks gestation. Children were followed up at age two and five years. The Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) was used to measure child mental health with clinical cut-points, including internalising (withdrawn/depressed) and externalising (aggressive/destructive) behaviours ( n = 1707). Results: Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that the significant risk factors for behaviour problems at age two were the maternal experience of multiple stress events in pregnancy (OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.06, 1.37), smoking during pregnancy (OR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.06, 1.59) and maternal ethnicity (OR = 3.34, 95% CI = 1.61, 6.96). At age five the experience of multiple stress events (OR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.08, 1.27), cigarette smoking (OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.03, 1.37), male gender (OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.02, 2.00), breastfeeding for a shorter time (OR = .97, 95% CI = .94, .99) and multiple baby blues symptoms (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.02, 1.14) were significant predictors of mental health problems. Conclusions: Early childhood mental health is significantly affected by prenatal events in addition to the child’s later environment. Interventions targeting adverse prenatal, perinatal and postnatal influences can be expected to improve mental health outcomes for children in the early years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]