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Background: Early-life respiratory tract infections might affect chronic obstructive respiratory diseases, but conclusive studies from general populations are lacking. Our objective was to examine if children with early-life respiratory tract infections had increased risks of lower lung function and asthma at school age. Methods: We used individual participant data of 150 090 children primarily from the EU Child Cohort Network to examine the associations of upper and lower respiratory tract infections from age 6 months to 5 years with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC, forced expiratory flow at 75% of FVC (FEF75%) and asthma at a median (range) age of 7 (4-15) years. Results: Children with early-life lower, not upper, respiratory tract infections had a lower school-age FEV1, FEV1/FVC and FEF75% (z-score range: -0.09 (95% CI -0.14- -0.04) to -0.30 (95% CI -0.36- -0.24)). Children with early-life lower respiratory tract infections had a higher increased risk of school-age asthma than those with upper respiratory tract infections (OR range: 2.10 (95% CI 1.98-2.22) to 6.30 (95% CI 5.64-7.04) and 1.25 (95% CI 1.18-1.32) to 1.55 (95% CI 1.47-1.65), respectively). Adjustment for preceding respiratory tract infections slightly decreased the strength of the effects. Observed associations were similar for those with and without early-life wheezing as a proxy for early-life asthma. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that early-life respiratory tract infections affect development of chronic obstructive respiratory diseases in later life, with the strongest effects for lower respiratory tract infections. A comprehensive list of grant funding is available on the ALSPAC website (www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/external/documents/grant-acknowledgements.pdf). BAMSE: BAMSE was funded by the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Heart Lung Foundation, ALF Region Stockholm and SFO Epidemiology Karolinska Institutet. E. Mélen is supported by a European Research Council grant (TRIBAL, 757919). BiB (Born in Bradford): BiB is only possible because of the enthusiasm and commitment of the children and parents in BiB. We are grateful to all the participants, practitioners and researchers who have made BiB happen. The BiB study presents independent research commissioned by the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Applied Health Research and Care (NIHR CLAHRC) and the Programme Grants for Applied Research funding scheme (RP-PG-0407-10044). Core support for BiB is also provided by the Wellcome Trust (WT101597MA). BILD: This study was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (320030_163311). CoNER: Funds were obtained from the special programme (Programmi speciali – Art.12 bis, comma 6 D.lgs.229/99 Sanitaria e della Vigilanza sugli Enti) funded by the Italian Ministry of Health. Approval for the study was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the S. Orsola-Malpighi Teaching Hospital in April 2004 (52/2004/U/Tess). COPSAC 2000 and COPSAC 2010: All funding received by COPSAC is listed on www.copsac.com. The Lundbeck Foundation (R16-A1694), Ministry of Health (903516), Danish Council for Strategic Research (0603-00280B) and Capital Region Research Foundation have provided core support to the COPSAC research centre. We express our deepest gratitude to the children and families of the COPSAC 2000 and COPSAC 2010 cohort studies for all their support and commitment. We acknowledge and appreciate the unique efforts of the COPSAC research team. DNBC (Danish National Birth Cohort): The authors would like to thank the participants, the first Principal Investigator of DNBC, Jørn Olsen, the scientific managerial team and DNBC secretariat for being, establishing, developing and consolidating the DNBC. The DNBC was established with a significant grant from the Danish National Research Foundation. Additional support was obtained from the Danish Regional Committees, Pharmacy Foundation, Egmont Foundation, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, Health Foundation and other minor grants. The DNBC Biobank has been supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and Lundbeck Foundation. Follow-up of mothers and children has been supported by the Danish Medical Research Council (SSVF 0646, 271-08-0839/06-066023, O602-01042B, 0602-02738B), Lundbeck Foundation (195/04, R100-A9193), Innovation Fund Denmark 0603-00294B (09-067124), Nordea Foundation (02-2013-2014), Aarhus Ideas (AU R9-A959-13-S804), University of Copenhagen Strategic Grant (IFSV 2012) and Danish Council for Independent Research (DFF-4183-00594, DFF-4183-00152). A. Pinot de Moira is funded by a Lundbeck Foundation grant (R264-2017-3099). EDEN: We thank the EDEN mother–child cohort study group (I. Annesi-Maesano, J.Y. Bernard, J. Botton, M.A. Charles, P. Dargent-Molina, B. de Lauzon-Guillain, P. Ducimetière, M. de Agostini, B. Foliguet, A. Forhan, X. Fritel, A. Germa, V. Goua, R. Hankard, B. Heude, M. Kaminski, B. Larroque†, N. Lelong, J. Lepeule, G. Magnin, L. Marchand, C. Nabet, F. Pierre, R. Slama, M.J. Saurel-Cubizolles, M. Schweitzer and O. Thiebaugeorges). We thank all funding sources for the EDEN study (not allocated for the present study but for the cohort): Foundation for Medical Research (FRM), National Agency for Research (ANR), National Institute for Research in Public health (IRESP: TGIR cohorte santé 2008 programme), French Ministry of Health (DGS), French Ministry of Research, INSERM Bone and Joint Diseases National Research (PRO-A) and Human Nutrition National Research Programs, Paris-Sud University, Nestlé, French National Institute for Population Health Surveillance (InVS), French National Institute for Health Education (INPES), the European Union FP7 programmes (FP7/2007-2013, HELIX, ESCAPE, ENRIECO, MeDALL projects), Diabetes National Research Program (in collaboration with the French Association of Diabetic Patients (AFD)), French Agency for Environmental Health Safety (now ANSES), Mutuelle Générale de l'Education Nationale complementary health insurance (MGEN), French national agency for food security, and French speaking association for the study of diabetes and metabolism (ALFEDIAM). The funding source had no involvement in the conception of the present study. FLEHS: This study was conducted within the framework of the Flemish Centre of Expertise on Environment and Health, funded by the Dept of the Environment of the Flemish Government, Flemish Agency of Care and Health, and Flemish Dept of Economy, Science and Innovation. GASPII: The GASPII cohort was funded by the Italian Ministry of Health (2001), the research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community's Seventh Framework Program under grant agreement 261357 (MeDALL). Generation R: This study was funded by Erasmus MC Rotterdam, Erasmus University Rotterdam and the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development. V.W.V. Jaddoe received a grant from the European Research Council (ERC-2014-CoG-648916). L. Duijts received funding from cofunded ERA-Net on Biomarkers for Nutrition and Health (ERA HDHL), Horizon 2020 (696295; 2017), the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw; 529051014; 2017), Science Foundation Ireland (SFI/16/ERA-HDHL/3360), and European Union (ALPHABET project). The project received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (LIFECYCLE, 733206, 2016; EUCAN-Connect 824989; ATHLETE, 874583). The researchers are independent from the funders. The study sponsors had no role in the study design, data analysis, interpretation of data or writing of this report. Generation XXI: Generation XXI was supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Internationalization and national funding from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, and by the Unidade de Investigação em Epidemiologia – Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (EPIUnit) (UIDB/04750/2020), Administração Regional de Saúde Norte (Regional Dept of Ministry of Health) and Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. A.C. Santos is founded by FCT Investigator contracts IF/01060/2015. GINI: The GINIplus study was mainly supported for the first 3 years by the Federal Ministry for Education, Science, Research and Technology (interventional arm) and Helmholtz Zentrum München (former GSF) (observational arm). The 4- and 6-year follow-up examinations of the GINIplus study were covered from the respective budgets of the five study centres (Helmholtz Zentrum München (former GSF), Research Institute at Marien-Hospital, Wesel, LMU Munich, TU Munich and from 6 years onwards also from IUF – Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine at the University of Düsseldorf). HUMIS: We thank all mothers for participating in the HUMIS study. HUMIS was funded by a grant from the Norwegian Research Council (226402). The HUMIS study was approved by the Norwegian Data Inspectorate (2002/1398) and by the Regional Ethics Committee for Medical Research in Norway (S-02122), and the specific use in the current study was approved by the Ethics Committee as well (2010/1259/REK sør-øst). INMA: Gipuzkoa: This study was funded by grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS-PI09/00090, FIS-PI18/01142 including FEDER funds), CIBERESP, Dept of Health of the Basque Government (2013111089) and annual agreements with the municipalities of the study area (Zumarraga, Urretxu, Legazpi, Azkoitia y Azpeitia and Beasain). Menorca: This study was funded by grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red INMA G03/176; CB06/02/0041; 97/0588; 00/0021-2, PI061756; PS0901958, PI14/00677 including FEDER funds), CIBERESP, Beca de la IV convocatoria de Ayudas a la Investigación en Enfemerdades Neurodegeneratives de La Caixa, and EC contract QLK4-CT-200-00263. Sabadell: This study was funded by grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red INMA G03/176; CB06/02/0041; PI041436; PI081151 including FEDER funds), Generalitat de Catalunya-CIRIT 1999SGR 00241 and Fundació La marató de TV3 (090430). ISGlobal is a member of the CERCA Programme, Generalitat de Catalunya. M. Casas holds a Miguel Servet fellowship (CP16/00128) funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III and cofunded by the European Social Fund “Investing in your future”. Valencia: This study was funded by grants from the European Union (FP7-ENV-2011 cod 282957 and HEALTH.2010.2.4.5-1), Spain: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Red INMA G03/176, CB06/02/0041; FIS-FEDER: PI03/1615, PI04/1509, PI04/1112, PI04/1931, PI05/1079, PI05/1052, PI06/1213, PI07/0314, PI09/02647, PI11/01007, PI11/02591, PI11/02038, PI13/1944, PI13/2032, PI14/00891, PI14/01687, PI16/1288, PI17/00663; Miguel Servet-FEDER CP11/00178, CP15/00025, CPII16/00051), Generalitat Valenciana: FISABIO (UGP 15-230, UGP-15-244, UGP-15-249), and Alicia Koplowitz Foundation 2017. Isle of Wight: This study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health USA (R01HL082925), Asthma UK (364), Isle of Wight NHS Trust and the British Medical Association. KOALA: The collection of data relevant for this study was funded by grants from the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw; 2100.0090) and the Netherlands Asthma Foundation (3.2.03.48, 3.2.07.022). The researchers are independent from the funders. The funders had no role in the study design, data analysis, interpretation of data or writing of this report. We thank the children and parents for their participation in the KOALA study. LRC (Leicestershire Respiratory Cohorts): This study was funded by grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF: 320030-182628, 320030-162820, 3233-069348, 3200-069349) and Asthma UK 07/048. Lifeways Cross-Generation Cohort Study: This study was funded by the Health Research Board, Ireland, and the Irish Dept of Health and Children's Health Promotion Policy Unit. LISA: The LISA study was mainly supported by grants from the Federal Ministry for Education, Science, Research and Technology and in addition from Helmholtz Zentrum München (former GSF), Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Leipzig, Research Institute at Marien-Hospital Bad Honnef for the first 2 years. The 4-, 6-, 10- and 15-year follow-up examinations of the LISA study were covered from the respective budgets of the involved partners (Helmholtz Zentrum München (former GSF), Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Leipzig, Research Institute at Marien-Hospital Wesel, Pediatric Practice, Bad Honnef, IUF – Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine at the University of Düsseldorf) and in addition by a grant from the Federal Ministry for Environment (IUF Düsseldorf, FKZ 20462296). Further, the 15-year follow-up examination of the LISA study was supported by the Commission of the European Communities, the Seventh Framework Program: MeDALL project. This project has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (949906). LucKi: LucKi is supported by Child and Youth Health Care Zuyderland, Public Health Service South Limburg and Maastricht University. We thank all parents and children for their participation in LucKi. LUKAS: This study was funded by research grants from the Academy of Finland (139021, 287675, 296814, 296817, 308254); Juho Vainio Foundation; EVO/VTR funding; Päivikki and Sakari Sohlberg Foundation; Farmers’ Social Insurance Institution (Mela); Finnish Cultural Foundation; Foundation for Pediatric Research; European Union QLK4-CT-2001-00250; and Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland. MAS-90: This study was funded by grants from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (MBMF; 07015633m 07ALE27, 01EE9405/5, 01EE9406) and the German Research Foundation (DFG; KE1462/2-1). Millennium Cohort Study: This study was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and a consortium of UK government funders. We are grateful to the participating families and the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS), UCL Institute of Education, for the use of these data and to the UK Data Service for making them available. However, neither CLS nor the UK Data Service bear any responsibility for the analysis or interpretation of these data. This work was supported by the Welcome Trust (187389/B/08/Z). MoBa: The Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services and Ministry of Education and Research. We are grateful to all the participating families in Norway who take part in this ongoing cohort study. This research was supported by the Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence funding scheme (262700). NINFEA: The authors are grateful to all the participants of the NINFEA cohort. The NINFEA study was partially funded by the Compagnia San Paolo Foundation. This research was partially funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (LIFECYCLE, 733206). PELAGIE: We are grateful to the families who participated and continue to participate in the study. The cohort is supported by INSERM and received funding from the French National Research Agency, Fondation de France, French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety, National Institute for Public Health Surveillance (InVS), French Ministry of Labour, and French Ministry of Ecology. PIAMA: This study was funded by the Netherlands Organisation of Health Research and Development, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, Netherlands Asthma Fund, Netherlands Ministry of Spatial Planning, Housing and the Environment, and Netherlands Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. REPRO_PL: This study was funded by the National Science Center Poland (DEC-2014/15/B/N27/00998). Rhea: This study was funded by the European Union Social Fund and the Hellenic Ministry of Health (“Program of prevention and early diagnosis of obesity and neurodevelopment disorders in preschool age children in the prefecture of Heraklion, Crete, Greece”; MIS 349580, NSRF 2007–2013). Additional funding from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) supported L. Chatzi (R01ES030691, R01ES029944, R01ES030364, R21ES029681, R21ES028903, P30ES007048). STEPS: This study was funded by the University of Turku, Abo Akademi University, Turku University Hospital, Academy of Finland (123571, 140251, 277535) and Foundation for Pediatric Research Finland. SWS: This study was funded by the Medical Research Council, British Heart Foundation, Arthritis Research UK, Food Standards Agency, NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre and the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013), project EarlyNutrition (289346), and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (LIFECYCLE, 733206). WHISTLER: The WHISTLER birth cohort was supported with a grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (2001-1-1322) and by an unrestricted grant from GlaxoSmithKline Netherlands. GlaxoSmithKline had no role in study design, in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data, in the writing of the report, and in the decision to submit the report for publication. WHISTLER-Cardio was supported with an unrestricted strategic grant from the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU).

Children born very preterm require additional specialist care because of the health and developmental risks associated with preterm birth, but information on their health service use is sparse. We sought to describe the use of specialist services by children born very preterm in Europe.We analysed data from the multi-regional, population-based Effective Perinatal Intensive Care in Europe (EPICE) cohort of births before 32 weeks' gestation in 11 European countries. Perinatal data were abstracted from medical records and parents completed a questionnaire at 2 years corrected age (4322 children; 2026 females, 2296 males; median gestational age 29wks, interquartile range [IQR] 27-31wks; median birthweight 1230g, IQR 970-1511g). We compared parent-reported use of specialist services by country, perinatal risk (based on gestational age, small for gestational age, and neonatal morbidities), maternal education, and birthplace.Seventy-six per cent of the children had consulted at least one specialist, ranging across countries from 53.7% to 100%. Ophthalmologists (53.4%) and physiotherapists (48.0%) were most frequently consulted, but individual specialists varied greatly by country. Perinatal risk was associated with specialist use, but the gradient differed across countries. Children with more educated mothers had higher proportions of specialist use in three countries.Large variations in the use of specialist services across Europe were not explained by perinatal risk and raise questions about the strengths and limits of existing models of care.Use of specialist services by children born very preterm varied across Europe. This variation was observed for types and number of specialists consulted. Perinatal risk was associated with specialist care, but did not explain country-level differences. In some countries, mothers' educational level affected use of specialist services.UTILIZACIÓN DE SERVICIOS DE SALUD ESPECIALIZADOS EN UN ESTUDIO DE COHORTE EUROPEO DE NIÑOS NACIDOS MUY PREMATUROS: OBJETIVO: Niños nacidos muy prematuramente requieren cuidados especializados adicionales debido a su salud y a los riesgos asociados con la prematuros, sin embargo la información sobre el uso de servicios de salud es escasa. Buscamos describir la utilización de servicios especializados por niños nacidos muy prematuramente, en Europa. MÉTODO: Analizamos datos de una cohorte de nacimientos ocurridos antes de las 32 semanas de gestación tomados del Effective Perinatal Intensive Care in Europe (EPICE), basado en la población y multirregional, en 11 países europeos. Los datos perinatales fueron extraídos de las historias clínicas y los padres completaron un cuestionario a los 2 años de edad corregida (4.322 niños; 2026 sexo femenino, 2.296 masculino; edad gestacional mediana 29 semanas, rango intercuartílico (IQR) 27-31 semanas; mediana de peso de nacimiento 1.230 gr, IQR 970-1.511 gr). Comparamos el uso de servicios especializados (según informe de los padres) por país, riesgo perinatal (basado en edad gestacional, bajo peso para edad gestacional y morbilidades neonatales), educación materna y lugar de nacimiento. RESULTADOS: En total 65% de los niños habían consultado por lo menos a un especialista, con un rango entre países de 53,7% a 100%. Los especialistas más frecuentemente consultados fueron Oftalmólogos (53,4%) y Fisioterapeutas (48%) pero los especialistas consultados por cada individuo variaron mucho según el país. El riesgo perinatal se asoció al uso de especialista, pero el gradiente varió entre los países. Niños de madres con mayor nivel educativo tuvieron mayor proporción de uso de especialistas en tres países. INTERPRETACIÓN: Las grandes variaciones en el uso de servicios especializados en Europa no fueron explicadas por el riesgo perinatal y arrojan cuestionamientos sobre las fortalezas y limitaciones de los modelos de cuidados existentes.USO DE SERVIÇOS DE SAÚDE ESPECIALIZADOS EM UMA COORTE EUROPÉIA DE LACTENTES NASCIDOS MUITO PREMATUROS: OBJETIVO: Crianças nascidas muito prematuras requerem cuidado especializado adicional por causa dos riscos à saúde e ao desenvolvimento associados ao nascimento premature, mas informações sobreo uso de serviços de saúde são escassas. Procuramos descrever o uso de serviços especializados por crianças nascidas muito prematuras na Europa. MÉTODO: Analisamos dados de uma coorte populacional multi-regional, do Cuidado Intensivo Neonatal Efetivo na Europa (EPICE), com lactentes nascidos antes de 32 semanas de gestação em 11 países europeus. Dados perinatais foram extraídos dos registros médicos, e os pais completaram um questionário com 2 anos de idade corrigida (4.322 crianças; 2.026 do sexo feminino, 2.296 do sexo masculino; idade gestacional mediana 29semanas, intervalo interquartile [IIQ] 27-31sem; peso ao nascimento mediano 1,230g, IIQ 970-1511g). Comparamos o uso de serviços especializados reportados pelos pais por país, risco perinatal (com base na idade gestacional, pequeno para a idade gestacional e morbidades neonatais), educação materna e local de nascimento. RESULTADOS: Setenta e seis por cento das crianças consultou pelo menos um especialista, variando entre países de 53,7 a 100%. Oftalmologistas (53,4%) e fisioterapeutas (48,0%) foram os mais frequentemente consultados, mas os especialistas individuais variaram bastante por país. O risco perinatal se associou com uso de serviços especializados, mas o gradient diferiu entre países. Crianças com mães mais educadas tinham maior proporção de uso de especialistas em três países. INTERPRETAÇÃO: Grandes variações no uso de serviços especializados na Europa não foram explicadas pelo risco perinatal, e levantam questões sobre as forças e limitações dos modelos de cuidado existentes.

Problematic eating behaviours during early childhood could be mediators of poor dietary habits. This study aims to prospectively relate early eating behaviours with fruit and vegetable (F&V) intake and a healthy diet variety score of children aged between 4 and 5 years. Eating behaviours were assessed in three European birth cohorts (Generation XXI from Portugal, ALSPAC from the UK and EDEN from France) at 4–6, 12–15, 24 and 48–54 months of age, based on the child’s feeding difficulties, mother’s perception of child’s poor eating (eating small quantities at each meal, not eating enough or needing to be stimulated to eat), food refusal and difficulties in the establishment of daily food routines. Daily servings of F&V (>1 v. ≤1 serving/d, except in Generation XXI: >3 v. ≤3) and the Healthy Plate Variety Score (categorised by the median score of each sample) were calculated using FFQ. Associations were tested by logistic regressions adjusted for maternal age, education, smoking during pregnancy, any breast-feeding and the child’s z-score BMI at 4–5 years of age. Children with more feeding difficulties, poor eating, food refusal/neophobia and difficulties in establishing a daily routine at 12–15, 24 and 48–54 months of age had in general lower F&V intake at 4–5 years of age. The association with vegetables was slightly stronger than with fruits. These early feeding problems were also inversely associated with the variety score at 4–5 years of age, particularly when eating behaviours were reported after 12–15 months of age. A better understanding of these early feeding difficulties may help define strategies to increase the dietary quality in children.

Not only healthy growth but also childhood obesity partly originate from early life. The current work aimed to examine the association of feeding practices during infancy with growth and adiposity indices in preschool children from four European countries and in UK schoolchildren and adolescents. Existing data from four European birth cohorts (ALSPAC-UK, EDEN-France, EuroPrevall-Greece and Generation XXI-Portugal) were used. Anthropometrics and body composition indices were collected. Parallel multivariate regression analyses were performed to examine the research hypothesis. Overall, the analyses showed that breastfeeding and timing of complementary feeding were not consistently associated with height z-score, overweight/obesity, and body fat mass in children or adolescents. However, breastfeeding duration for less than 6 months was associated with lower height z-scores in 5-year-old French children (P < 0.001) but with higher height z-scores in 4-year-old UK children (P = 0.006). Furthermore, introduction of complementary foods earlier than 4 months of age was positively associated with fat mass levels in 5-year-old French children (P = 0.026). CONCLUSION: Early feeding practices, i.e., any breastfeeding duration and age of introduction of complementary foods, do not appear to be consistently associated with height z-score, overweight/obesity, and body fat mass in preschool children from four European countries and in UK schoolchildren and adolescents. What is known? * Healthy growth and childhood obesity partly originate from early life. What is new? * Breastfeeding duration less than 6 months was associated with lower height z-scores in 5-year-old French children, while the opposite was observed in 4-year-old British children. * Introduction of complementary foods earlier than 4 months was positively associated with fat mass levels in 5-year-old French children, but not in the other three countries. * Early feeding practices did not appear to be consistently associated with growth and adiposity indices, and as such, no clear influence can be observed.

ObjectiveThe present study examined whether maternal diet and early infant feeding experiences relating to being breast-fed and complementary feeding influence the range of healthy foods consumed in later childhood.DesignData from four European birth cohorts were studied. Healthy Plate Variety Score (HPVS) was calculated using FFQ. HPVS assesses the variety of healthy foods consumed within and across the five main food groups. The weighted numbers of servings consumed of each food group were summed; the maximum score was 5. Associations between infant feeding experiences, maternal diet and the HPVS were tested using generalized linear models and adjusted for appropriate confounders.SettingThe British Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), the French Etude des Déterminants pre et postnatals de la santé et du développement de L’Enfant study (EDEN), the Portuguese Generation XXI Birth Cohort and the Greek EuroPrevall cohort.SubjectsPre-school children and their mothers.ResultsThe mean HPVS for each of the cohorts ranged from 2·3 to 3·8, indicating that the majority of children were not eating a full variety of healthy foods. Never being breast-fed or being breast-fed for a short duration was associated with lower HPVS at 2, 3 and 4 years of age in all cohorts. There was no consistent association between the timing of complementary feeding and HPVS. Mother’s HPVS was strongly positively associated with child’s HPVS but did not greatly attenuate the relationship with breast-feeding duration.ConclusionsResults suggest that being breast-fed for a short duration is associated with pre-school children eating a lower variety of healthy foods.

Objective To evaluate the relationships prospectively between birth weight (standardized for gestational age) and problematic eating behaviors, as reported by the parents, at different ages in 3 birth cohorts: Generation XXI (Portugal), Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (United Kingdom), and Etude des Determinants pre et postnatals precoces du developpement et de la sante de l'ENfant study (France) – HabEat project. We also aimed to explore the effect of child's current body mass index (BMI) in these relationships. Study design Problematic eating behaviors were assessed at 4-6, 12-15, 24, and 48-54 months, based on caregiver's perception. Children born small, appropriate, and large for gestational age were defined based on sex-specific Kramer growth references. Associations were tested by logistic regression (OR, 95% CI) adjusted for maternal age, education, BMI, smoking, breastfeeding duration, older siblings, birth type and, in a second step, for child's current BMI World Health Organization z-score. Results Parents of children born small for gestational age (compared with appropriate gestational age) reported more often feeding difficulties and poor eating patterns (eating small quantities or needing stimulation to eat) at 4-6 months (Generation XXI: OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.40-2.94; Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children: OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.14-1.62; Etude des Determinants pre et postnatals precoces du developpement et de la sante de l'ENfant OR 3.24, 95% CI 1.50-6.96), but this effect was weaker at older ages. Overall, the effects decreased, after adjustment for child's BMI, but remained significant. Conclusions Low birth weight for gestational age was related to later difficulty in eating behaviors, primarily in the first 4-6 months.