Mortality risk among Autistic children and young people: A nationwide birth cohort study.

LAY ABSTRACT: Existing literature indicates that Autistic people have shorter life expectancy, but little is known about the mortality risk among Autistic children and young people (0-24 years). We used a 15-year nationwide birth cohort study to estimate the mortality risk among Autistic children and young people in Aotearoa/New Zealand. The study included 895,707 children and 11,919 (1.4%) were Autistic. We found that autism was associated with a significantly higher mortality risk compared to the non-Autistic population. In addition, we found that this risk was significantly higher among females compared to males and for those with a co-occurring intellectual disability. Increased efforts are required to better meet the health needs of this population.

Identifying neurodevelopmental disabilities from nationalised preschool health check.

OBJECTIVE: Models of psychometric screening to identify individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDDs) have had limited success. In Aotearoa/New Zealand, routine developmental surveillance of preschool children is undertaken using the Before School Check (B4SC), which includes psychometric and physical health screening instruments. This study aimed to determine whether combining multiple screening measures could improve the prediction of NDDs. METHODS: Linked administrative health data were used to identify NDDs, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability, within a multi-year national cohort of children who undertook the B4SC. Cox proportional hazards models, with different combinations of potential predictors, were used to predict onset of a NDD. Harrell's c-statistic for composite models were compared with a model representing recommended cutoff psychometric scores for referral in New Zealand. RESULTS: Data were examined for 287,754 children, and NDDs were identified in 10,953 (3.8%). The best-performing composite model combining the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, the Parental Evaluation of Developmental Status, vision screening and biological sex had 'excellent' predictive power (C-statistic: 0.83) compared with existing referral pathways which had 'poor' predictive power (C-statistic: 0.68). In addition, the composite model was able to improve the sensitivity of NDD diagnosis detection by 13% without any reduction in specificity. CONCLUSIONS: Combination of B4SC screening measures using composite modelling could lead to significantly improved identification of preschool children with NDDs when compared with surveillance that rely on individual psychometric test results alone. This may optimise access to academic, personal and family support for children with NDDs.

Association Between High-Need Education-Based Funding and School Suspension Rates for Autistic Students in New Zealand.

Importance: Autistic students often experience poor educational outcomes that have implications for later life, including unemployment, interactions with the criminal justice system, increased risk for substance abuse, and low socioeconomic status. Improving educational outcomes is critical for ensuring that autistic young people can reach their potential. Objective: To quantify differences in suspension rates between autistic and nonautistic students and to assess whether high-need education-based funding for autistic students is associated with reduced rates of school suspension. Design, Setting, and Participants: This national cohort study used linked health and education data from New Zealand's Integrated Data Infrastructure. Data were obtained for students aged 5 to 16 years from January 1 to December 31, 2018, and analyzed July 7, 2021, to January 1, 2022. A novel case identification method was used to identify autistic students. Exposures: High-need education-based funding (Ongoing Resourcing Scheme [ORS]) obtained before 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures: Rates of suspension from school. Crude and adjusted analyses of the association between suspension rates and autism among the full population with adjustment made for sociodemographic characteristics (sex, age, ethnicity, deprivation, and urban or rural profile of residence) were conducted using complete-case, 2-level random intercept logistic multivariable regressions. To assess the association between ORS funding and suspension, analysis was restricted to autistic students. Results: Of the 736 911 students in the study population, 9741 (1.3%) were identified as autistic (median [SD] age, 10 [3.2] years; 7710 [79.1%] boys), and 727 170 (98.7%) as nonautistic (median [SD] age, 10 [3.4] years; 369 777 [50.9%] boys). School suspension was experienced by 504 autistic students (5.2%) and 13 845 nonautistic students (1.9%). After adjustment for demographic characteristics, autistic students had significantly higher odds of suspension than their nonautistic peers (adjusted odds ratio, 2.81; 95% CI, 2.55-3.11). Of the 9741 autistic students, 2895 (29.7%) received high-need education-based (ORS) funding. Suspensions were experienced by 57 autistic students (2.0%) with high-need funding and 447 autistic students (6.5%) without high-need funding. After adjustment for demographic characteristics, co-occurring conditions, and level of disability support need, autistic students with high-need funding had significantly lower odds of suspension than autistic students without high-need funding (adjusted odds ratio, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.21-0.40). Conclusions and Relevance: In this cohort study, the findings of disparities in suspension rates between autistic and nonautistic students underscore the challenges faced in providing inclusive education for all young people, regardless of disability status. This study found that high-need funding was associated with reduced suspension rates among autistic students, suggesting that if appropriate supports are afforded to autistic students, a more inclusive education can be provided.

Criminal justice system interactions among young adults with and without autism: A national birth cohort study in New Zealand.

LAY ABSTRACT: Sensationalist headlines and highly publicised criminal cases lead many in the public to believe that people with autism are more likely to engage in criminal behaviour. However, recent studies present an unresolved debate, and indicate this may not necessarily be the case. The aims of this study were to examine the prevalence of criminal justice system interactions among young adults with and without autism, and determine whether offence types differ between these groups. We tracked a national birth cohort until their 25th birthday, detecting criminal justice system interactions from age 17 onwards. Linked health and criminal justice system data were used to identify those with autism and detect interactions with the criminal justice system. We found that young people with autism interacted with the criminal justice system at lower rates compared to those without autism. However, there were considerable differences in the types of offences these young people were charged with. For example, among those charged with an offence, people with autism were more likely to be charged with a serious offence, punishable by 2 or more years in prison. We conclude that although young people with autism are not over-represented in the criminal justice system, disparities in offence types and incarceration rates among those charged with an offence suggest the importance of identification and appropriate response to autism within the criminal justice system.

Evidence-Based Decision Making 3: Health Technology Assessment.

This chapter begins with a brief introduction to health technology assessment (HTA). HTA is concerned with the systematic evaluation of the consequences of the adoption and use of new health technologies and to improve the evidence on existing technologies. The objective of mainstream HTA is to support evidence-based decision- and policy-making that encourage the uptake of efficient and effective health-care technologies. This chapter provides a basic framework for conducting an HTA, as well as some fundamental concepts and challenges in assessing health technologies. Whether HTA is beneficial-supporting timely access to needed technologies-or detrimental depends on three critical issues: when the assessment is performed; how it is performed; and how the findings are used.

Association of chronic pain with comorbidities and health care utilization: a retrospective cohort study using health administrative data.

ABSTRACT: Health administrative data provide a potentially robust information source regarding the substantial burden chronic pain exerts on individuals and the health care system. This study aimed to use health administrative data to estimate comorbidity prevalence and annual health care utilization associated with chronic pain in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Applying the validated Chronic Pain Algorithm to provincial Fee-for-Service Physician Claims File data (1999-2009) established the Chronic Pain (n = 184,580) and No Chronic Pain (n = 320,113) comparator groups. Applying the Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System coding algorithms to Claims File and Provincial Discharge Abstract Data (1999-2009) determined the prevalence of 16 comorbidities. The 2009/2010 risk and person-year rate of physician and diagnostic imaging visits and hospital admissions were calculated and adjusted using the robust Poisson model with log link function (risks) and negative binomial model (rates). Results indicated a significantly higher prevalence of all comorbidities and up to 4 times the odds of multimorbidity in the Chronic Pain Group (P-value < 0.001). Chronic Pain Group members accounted for 58.8% of all physician visits, 57.6% of all diagnostic imaging visits, and 54.2% of all hospital admissions in 2009/2010, but only 12% to 16% of these were for pain-related conditions as per recorded diagnostic codes. The Chronic Pain Group had significantly higher rates of physician visits and high-cost hospital admission/diagnostic imaging visits (P-value < 0.001) when adjusted for demographics and comorbidities. Observations made using this methodology supported that people identified as having chronic pain have higher prevalence of comorbidities and use significantly more publicly funded health services.

Medication dispensing for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder to New Zealand youth.

AIMS: Global trends show an increase in medication dispensing for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in young people over time. The current study aimed to examine whether similar trends were observed in New Zealand youth over the period of 2007/08 to 2016/17. METHODS: We estimated the prevalence in ADHD medication dispensing using national pharmaceutical data for each fiscal year from 2007/08 to 2016/17 in approximately 2.4 million New Zealand youth aged 1-24 years. We also examined whether trends varied by sociodemographic factors. RESULTS: The total dispensing prevalence almost doubled from 516 per 100,000 to 996 per 100,000 over the study period. Males had a consistently higher dispensing prevalence relative to females. Young people aged 7-17 years had the highest dispensing prevalence. The most deprived quintile had a slightly lower dispensing prevalence relative to other quintiles. Ethnic differences in dispensing prevalence were apparent, with deprivation differences also existing within most ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our study showed an increase in ADHD medication use by young people in New Zealand, similar to international findings. Further research is needed into why disparities in dispensing prevalence occur across ethnic and socioeconomic groups.

Autism spectrum disorder/Takiwatanga: An Integrated Data Infrastructure-based approach to autism spectrum disorder research in New Zealand.

LAY ABSTRACT: New Zealand has few estimates of the prevalence autism spectrum disorder and no national registry or data set to identify and track cases. This hinders the ability to make informed, evidence-based decisions relating to autism spectrum disorder. In this study, we utilised linked health and non-health data to develop a method for identifying cases of autism spectrum disorder among children and young people in New Zealand. In addition, we examined rates of co-occurring mental health, neurodevelopmental and related conditions among this cohort and compared these to the general population. The method identified almost 10,000 children and young people with autism spectrum disorder in New Zealand. Co-occurring mental health or related problems were found in over 68% of this group (nearly seven times higher than the general population), and around half were identified with multiple co-occurring conditions. The most frequently identified conditions were intellectual disability, disruptive behaviours and emotional problems. We have developed a useful method for monitoring service and treatment-related trends, number and types of co-occurring conditions and examining social outcomes among individuals with autism spectrum disorder. While the method may underestimate the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in New Zealand, it provides a significant step towards establishing a more comprehensive evidence base to inform autism spectrum disorder-related policy.

Case identification of mental health and related problems in children and young people using the New Zealand Integrated Data Infrastructure.

BACKGROUND: In a novel endeavour we aimed to develop a clinically relevant case identification method for use in research about the mental health of children and young people in New Zealand using the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI). The IDI is a linked individual-level database containing New Zealand government and survey microdata. METHODS: We drew on diagnostic and pharmaceutical information contained within five secondary care service use and medication dispensing datasets to identify probable cases of mental health and related problems. A systematic classification and refinement of codes, including restrictions by age, was undertaken to assign cases into 13 different mental health problem categories. This process was carried out by a panel of eight specialists covering a diverse range of mental health disciplines (a clinical psychologist, four child and adolescent psychiatrists and three academic researchers in child and adolescent mental health). The case identification method was applied to the New Zealand youth estimated resident population for the 2014/15 fiscal year. RESULTS: Over 82,000 unique individuals aged 0-24 with at least one specified mental health or related problem were identified using the case identification method for the 2014/15 fiscal year. The most prevalent mental health problem subgroups were emotional problems (31,266 individuals), substance problems (16,314), and disruptive behaviours (13,758). Overall, the pharmaceutical collection was the largest source of case identification data (59,862). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the value of utilising IDI data for mental health research. Although the method is yet to be fully validated, it moves beyond incidence rates based on single data sources, and provides directions for future use, including further linkage of data to the IDI.

The Efficacy of Preschool Developmental Indicators as a Screen for Early Primary School-Based Literacy Interventions.

Literacy success lays the foundation for children's later educational, health, and well-being outcomes. Thus, early identification of literacy need is vital. Using data from New Zealand's national preschool health screening program for fiscal years 2010/2011-2014/2015, demographic and health variables from 255,090 children aged 4 years were related to whether they received a literacy intervention in early primary school. Overall, 20,652 (8.1%) children received an intervention. Time-to-event analysis revealed that all considered variables were significantly related to literacy intervention (all p < .01), but the full model lacked reasonable predictive power for population screening purposes (Harrell's c-statistic = .624; 95% CI [.618, .629]). Including more direct literacy measures in the national screening program is likely needed for improvement.

Long-term opioid medication use before and after joint replacement surgery in New Zealand.

AIM: To describe the use of opioid analgesics over three years before and after total joint replacement surgery in New Zealand. METHOD: We extracted information on all individuals undergoing publicly funded total hip or knee replacement surgery in New Zealand between June 2011 and December 2014, and linked data on opioid prescribing, from the Statistics New Zealand Integrated Data Infrastructure. We analysed monthly opioid use over the three years before and after surgery and the transition from pre-operative and/or immediate post-operative use to chronic post-operative use. RESULTS: The prevalence of opioid use increased from 7% three years before surgery to 22% immediately prior to surgery, was common (75%) in the month following surgery and declined rapidly to 10-12% per month over the following years. Patients dispensed opioids prior to surgery or in the post-operative recovery period were at significantly higher risk of subsequent chronic opioid use. CONCLUSION: Opioid analgesic prescribing was reduced following joint replacement surgery, although a substantial minority of patients remained long-term opioid users. Avoiding unnecessary pre-operative opioid use and limiting opioid use for post-operative pain management where appropriate could help to reduce the risk of potentially ineffective or harmful long-term opioid use in these patients.

IDI trends in antidepressant dispensing to New Zealand children and young people between 2007/08 and 2015/16.

AIM: To examine trends in antidepressant dispensing to childred and young people in New Zealand aged 1-24 years between 2007/08 and 2015/16 using the national Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), and to determine whether these trends vary by age, sex, ethnicity and socioeconomic deprivation. METHODS: In a novel endeavour, data on antidepressant dispensing, age, sex, ethnicity and socioeconomic status were sourced from the IDI, a linked individual-level database containing New Zealand government and survey microdata. RESULTS: The total rate of dispensing of antidepressants to young people increased by 44% from 1,870 per 100,000 in 2007/08 to 2,694 per 100,000 in 2015/16. Increases were larger for the 13-17 age group than the 1-12- or 18-24-year age groups. New Zealand European/Other ethnicities had the highest dispensing rates (3,623 out of every 100,000 people received an antidepressant in 2015/16), followed by Maori (1,980/100,000), Asian (902/100,000) and Pasifika (819/100,000) had the lowest. Dispensing rates increased with increasing deprivation, except in the most deprived quintile, where rates were lower than all other quintiles. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the value of utilising IDI data for health research, while providing directions for future use, including further linkage of IDI datasets. Overall there was a trend towards an increase in the use of antidepressants across all age, sex and ethnic groups, but notable variation in dispensing between different ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Despite our inability to determine the clinical rationale for increased dispensing of antidepressants, the available data highlight some potentially significant improvements as well as disparities in healthcare.

Decomposing ethnic differences in body mass index and obesity rates among New Zealand pre-schoolers.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent to which ethnic differences in BMI Z-scores and obesity rates could be explained by the differential distribution of demographic (e.g. age), familial (e.g. family income), area (e.g. area deprivation), parental (e.g. immigration status), and birth (e.g. gestational age) characteristics across ethnic groups. METHODS: We used data on 4-year-old children born in New Zealand who attended the B4 School Check between the fiscal years of 2010/2011 to 2015/2016, who were resident in the country when the 2013 census was completed (n = 253,260). We implemented an Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition to explain differences in BMI Z-score and obesity between Maori (n = 63,061) and European (n = 139,546) children, and Pacific (n = 21,527) and European children. RESULTS: Overall, 15.2% of the children were obese and mean BMI Z-score was 0.66 (SD = 1.04). The Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition demonstrated that the difference in obesity rates between Maori and European children would halve if Maori children experienced the same familial and area level conditions as Europeans. If Pacific children had the same characteristics as European children, differences in obesity rates would reduce by approximately one third, but differences in mean BMI Z-scores would only reduce by 16.1%. CONCLUSION: The differential distribution of familial, parental, area, and birth characteristics across ethnic groups explain a substantial percentage of the ethnic differences in obesity, especially for Maori compared to European children. However, marked disparities remain.

How universal are universal preschool health checks? An observational study using routine data from New Zealand's B4 School Check.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to estimate how many children were attending a universal preschool health screen and to identify characteristics associated with non-participation. DESIGN: Analysis of population-level linked administrative data. PARTICIPANTS: Children were considered eligible for a B4 School Check for a given year if:(1) they were ever resident in New Zealand (NZ),(2) lived in NZ for at least 6 months during the reference year, (3) were alive at the end of the reference year, (4) either appeared in any hospital (including emergency) admissions, community pharmaceutical dispensing or general practitioner enrolment datasets during the reference year or (5) had a registered birth in NZ. We analysed 252 273 records over 4 years, from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2015. RESULTS: We found that participation rates varied for each component of the B4 School Check (in 2014/2015 91.8% for vision and hearing tests (VHTs), 87.2% for nurse checks (including height, weight, oral health, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [SDQ] and parental evaluation of development status) and 62.1% for SDQ - Teacher [SDQ-T]), but participation rates for all components increased over time. Maori and Pacific children were less likely to complete the checks than non-Maori and non-Pacific children (for VHTs: Maori: OR=0.60[95% CI 0.61 to 0.58], Pacific: OR=0.58[95% CI 0.60 to 0.56], for nurse checks: Maori: OR=0.63[95% CI 0.64 to 0.61], Pacific: OR=0.67[95% CI 0.69 to0.65] and for SDQ-T: Maori: OR=0.76[95% CI 0.78 to 0.75], Pacific: OR=0.37[95% CI 0.38 to 0.36]). Children from socioeconomically deprived areas, with younger mothers, from rented homes, residing in larger households, with worse health status and with higher rates of residential mobility were less likely to participate in the B4 School Check than other children. CONCLUSION: The patterns of non-participation suggest a reinforcing of existing disparities, whereby the children most in need are not getting the services they potentially require. There needs to be an increased effort by public health organisations, community and whanau/family to ensure that all children are tested and screened.

Patterns of early primary school-based literacy interventions among Pacific children from a nationwide health screening programme of 4 year olds.

Literacy success is critical to unlocking a child's potential and enhancing their future wellbeing. Thus, the early identification and redressing of literacy needs is vital. Pacific children have, on average, the lowest literacy achievement levels in New Zealand. However, this population is very diverse. This study sought to determine whether the current national health screening programme of pre-school children could be used as an early detection tool of Pacific children with the greatest literacy needs. Time-to-event analyses of literacy intervention data for Pacific children born in years 2005-2011 were employed. A multivariable Cox proportional hazard model was fitted, and predictive assessment made using training and test datasets. Overall, 59,760 Pacific children were included, with 6,861 (11.5%) receiving at least one literacy intervention. Tongan (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.33; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.23, 1.45) and Cook Island Maori (HR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.21, 1.47) children were more likely to receive an intervention than Samoan children; whereas those children with both Pacific and non-Pacific ethnic identifications were less likely. However, the multivariable model lacked reasonable predictive power (Harrell's c-statistic: 0.592; 95% CI: 0.583, 0.602). Regardless, important Pacific sub-populations emerged who would benefit from targeted literacy intervention or policy implementation.

The Effect of Empowerment and Self-Determination on Health Outcomes.

There remains a persistent gap in health outcomes between wealthy and poor countries. Basic measures such as life expectancy and infant and under-five mortality remain divergent, with preventable deaths being unacceptably high, despite significant efforts to reduce these disparities. We examine the impact of empowerment, measured by Freedom House's ratings of country's political rights and civil liberties, while controlling for per capita gross domestic product, secondary school enrollment, and income inequality, on national health outcomes. Using data from 1970 to 2013 across 149 countries, our results suggest, quite strongly, that higher levels of empowerment have a significant positive association with life expectancy, particularly for females, and lower rates of infant and under-five mortality. Our results point to the need for efforts to stimulate economic growth be accompanied with reforms to increase the levels empowerment through increasing political rights and civil liberties.

The unseen high-cost users: children and youth with mental illness.

Often neglected from discussions of high-cost healthcare users are children and youth with mental health issues. But when considered from the perspective of all of the various public and community services they require, and their impact on families, these children should be considered in initiatives to improve care for frequent healthcare users. For children with mental illness, because of the fragmented services they receive, there are clear opportunities for gains in patient care through better clinical and social care integration, even without significant additional investments. A key barrier to improving care for these children and youth is better understanding their care pathways. We conclude by describing a new multidisciplinary research project, which is taking an inter-sectorial view of how youth and their families access mental health services across the four Atlantic Canadian provinces, to provide the knowledge basis to improve care for these vulnerable, high-cost patients.

Trends of abnormal birthweight among full-term infants in Newfoundland and Labrador.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to investigate whether any observed trends in birthweight are accompanied by changes in maternal sociodemographic characteristics, including age, marital status, and education. METHODS: We conducted a population-based study of term singletons born in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, between 1992 and 2005 (N = 66,638). Large-sample significance tests for two population proportions were used to test whether differences in mean birthweight, the proportion of low and high birthweight infants, and differences in maternal socio-demographic characteristics between 1992-95 and 2002-05 were statistically significant. Chi-square tests were used to test for associations between birthweight group and maternal age, education and marital status. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the interaction of these effects across time periods. RESULTS: Of the 66,638 infants included in the study, 54,256 (81.4%) were born in the normal birthweight range (2500-4000 grams) while 11,305 (17.0%) were high birthweight (> 4000 grams) and 1,077 (1.6%) were low birthweight (< 2500 grams). The rate of low birthweight significantly decreased from 1992 to 1995 compared to the period 2002 to 2005 (1.9% to 1.3%: p < 0.01). The rate of high birthweight significantly increased over the same two time periods (16.2% to 17.5%: p < 0.01). Mean birthweight increased from 3529 grams to 3566 grams (p < 0.01). Compared to women who had babies from 1992 to 1995, women who gave birth from 2002 to 2005 were more likely to be older, have higher levels of education, and never have been married. Birthweight outcomes were significantly associated with mother's age, education and marital status. CONCLUSION: Changes in maternal demographics are associated with the upward shift in birthweight in Newfoundland and Labrador.