Pacific Islands Families Study: Household Food Security during Pregnancy and Secondary School Educational Achievement.

Nutritional environment in early life is a key factor for brain development and function. It is important to understand the relationship between nutrition in early life and academic achievement in adolescence. The birth cohort of the Pacific Islands Families (PIF) study was born in the year 2000. When their child was six weeks old, mothers were asked questions concerning food security over the past year. Two binary measures of food security were derived as previously used in PIF and also by the Ministry of Health (MOH). In 2020, records of academic achievement from the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) for 649 (317 female, 332 male) cohort members showed progressive achievement at levels 1, 2, and 3 of NCEA and allowed University Entrance (UE) to be assessed. The prevalence of food insecurity was not different for sex but high at 29% and 42% using the PIF and MOH definitions of food insecurity, respectively. More females (27%) than males (18%) achieved UE as their highest qualification, and more males (40%) than females (31%) achieved NCEA levels 1 or 2 as their highest qualification. UE was achieved by 25% of those born into food-secure households and 17% from food-insecure households. Logistic regression demonstrated that the odds of achieving UE were 1.8-fold (95% CI 1.2, 2.6, p = 0.003) higher in females than males and, independently, 1.6-fold (95% CI 1.1, 2.5 p = 0.026) higher if the household was food secure. This work emphasises the importance of maternal and early-life food security for subsequent academic achievement and the well-being of future generations.

Will New Zealand be smokefree by 2025? Smoking prevalence amongst a cohort of Pacific adults.

AIM: To examine the prevalence of smoking amongst a cohort of Pacific fathers and mothers from birth up to 11 years after the birth of their child. METHODS: Within the context of broader interviews, 1073 Pacific fathers and 1434 Pacific mothers participating in the longitudinal Pacific Islands Families (PIF) Study were surveyed about their smoking at multiple time-points of the study from 2000 until 2012. Prevalence rates of any and heavy smoking were calculated and analysed. RESULTS: Maternal prevalence rates showed a sharp decline during pregnancy and immediately postpartum, yet rates then increased gradually to pre-birth levels within one to four years. Prevalence rates for mothers showed little change between 4 and 11 years postpartum, maintaining a steady 32% for mothers. While prevalence rates for fathers show a decline from initial levels (40.3%), they still remain extremely high (37.5%) at 11 years postpartum. CONCLUSION: The minimal decline in smoking prevalence amongst this cohort is of alarming concern for Pacific families and their communities. Given the New Zealand Government's Aotearoa Smokefree 2025 goal, innovative approaches must be implemented to discover effective solutions to help Pacific communities reduce their smoking.

Child developmental assessment at two-years of age: data from the Pacific Islands Families Study.

AIMS: To describe the developmental profile of Pacific children living in New Zealand at two years of age in personal/social, language, cognitive, fine motor, and gross motor domains, and to examine how sociodemographic, maternal, and cultural factors influence children's development. METHODS: A cohort of Pacific infants born during 2000 in Auckland, New Zealand, was followed up at two-years postpartum. Maternal interviews were administered and the developmental status of the child was measured using the Australian Developmental Screening Test. RESULTS: Maternal child development reports are presented for 1,018 two-year-old children. The majority of children were identified as having no developmental delay. The prevalence of no delay in any of these five domains was 64.8%. For those children (35%) who were identified with possible overall delay the significant risk factors were child ethnicity, low birth weight, being breastfed for less than six weeks, and single parenthood. DISCUSSION: The powerful associations of these factors and developmental outcome suggest that interventions need to have the flexibility to address such issues within individual Pacific families and communities.

Impact of current and past intimate partner violence on maternal mental health and behaviour at 2 years after childbirth: evidence from the Pacific Islands Families Study.

OBJECTIVE: The present study examined the association between maternal intimate partner violence (IPV) at 6 weeks and 24 months postpartum and maternal health problems in a cohort of Pacific families with 2-year-old children in New Zealand. METHODS: Data were gathered from the Pacific Islands Families Study. Mothers of a cohort of Pacific infants born in Auckland, New Zealand during 2000 were interviewed when the children were 6 weeks and 24 months of age. There were 828 mothers cohabiting in married or de facto partnerships who completed measures of IPV, mental health, and health-related behaviour such as smoking and high-risk alcohol use at both data points. The main statistical method used was logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Compared to mothers who did not experience physical violence at either data point, the odds of reporting psychological distress were 2.42 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07-5.44) for those experiencing physical violence at 6 weeks only, 3.47 (95%CI = 1.75-6.86) for those experiencing physical violence at 24 months only, and 3.84 (95%CI = 1.78-8.30) for those experiencing physical violence at both data points after controlling for sociodemographic factors. Mothers experiencing verbal aggression or physical violence at both data points were more likely to report smoking or high-risk alcohol use at 24 months than those who did not, but the associations were no longer significant after controlling for sociodemographic factors. CONCLUSION: Being a victim of intimate partner physical violence at any time (past, recent and repeated) may contribute to an increase in maternal psychological distress. Health-related behaviours such as smoking and high-risk alcohol use at 24 months postpartum may to some degree be attributable to repeated victimization of physical violence and verbal aggression, but the relationships are not convincing and deserve further research in longitudinal studies.

Maternal smoking during pregnancy and behaviour problems in a birth cohort of 2-year-old Pacific children in New Zealand.

AIM: The present study investigated associations between maternal smoking during pregnancy and child behaviour problems in a cohort of Pacific Islands two-year-old children in New Zealand. STUDY DESIGN: Data were gathered as part of the Pacific Islands Families (PIF) Study. Mothers of a cohort of 1398 Pacific infants born in South Auckland, New Zealand were interviewed when their children were six-weeks, 12 and 24 months of age. Within the context of a wider interview, data regarding cigarette smoking during pregnancy was obtained from 1038 biological mothers at the six-week interview and reports of child behaviour using the Child Behaviour Checklist were gathered when the children were 24 months old. RESULTS: The prevalence rates of clinically relevant cases were higher in children of smokers compared to non-smokers for internalising (22.6% versus 15.2%), externalising (9.6% versus 5.7%) and total problem scores (20% versus 12.4%). Following adjustment for potential confounding factors, smoking was associated with a moderately increased prevalence of total behaviour problems (OR=1.75, 95% CI=(1.12, 2.74); p=0.015). For internalising scores, the effects of smoking appeared to be raised for children of non-partnered mothers (OR=3.35, 95% CI=(1.29, 8.67); p=0.013). For externalising scores, smoking appeared to have a greater detrimental effect on girls (OR=2.37, 95% CI=(1.12, 5.04); p=0.024). CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate there are significant effects of prenatal tobacco exposure on problem behaviour among young children. Smoking is a modifiable factor worthy of increased early preventive efforts.