ABSTRACTObjective To investigate possible multigenerational influences on birthweight.Design Data from the longitudinal study of one week's births in 1958 up to the age of 23 years, the British National Child Development Study, were... more
ABSTRACTObjective To investigate possible multigenerational influences on birthweight.Design Data from the longitudinal study of one week's births in 1958 up to the age of 23 years, the British National Child Development Study, were utilized. These pro‐vide socio‐biological information on the parents of the cohort, on the cohort members from birth onwards, and on the pregnancies and the birthweight of any babies born to the cohort members.Main outcome measure The main outcome was the birthweight of babies born to the cohort members, for whom complete intergenerational data were available for 1638 firstborn. Multiple regression modelling was used to investigate any associ‐ations between their birthweight and characteristics of their parents and grandparents.Results Significant positive associations were found between babies' birthweight and parental birthweight but not gestational age. For the babies born to female cohort members additional findings included associations betw...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Human Geography, Epidemiology, Methodology, Public Health, Birth Weight, and 15 moreBirth, London, Pregnancy, Humans, Female, Data acquisition, Male, Infant, Newborn Infant, Infant Mortality, Public health systems and services research, Retrospective Studies, Data Logging, Fetal death, and Population surveillance
Among babies born at term, low birthweight predicts cardiovascular risk factors and disease in adulthood. This study shows that babies born prematurely, whether or not they have intrauterine growth retardation, are predisposed to similar... more
Among babies born at term, low birthweight predicts cardiovascular risk factors and disease in adulthood. This study shows that babies born prematurely, whether or not they have intrauterine growth retardation, are predisposed to similar risks as adults.
Research Interests: Medicine, Birth Weight, Humans, Hypertension, Blood Pressure, and 15 moreFemale, Male, Heart rate, Risk factors, Lancet, Adult, Sex Factors, Cardiovascular Risk Factor, Cardiovascular Diseases, Dehydroepiandrosterone, Risk Factors, Gestational Age, hydrocortisone, Medical and Health Sciences, and Fetal Growth Retardation
... Hum. Genet. (2001), 65, 167176 Printed in Great Britain 167 Mortality and cancer incidence in persons with Down's syndrome, their parents and siblings C. HERMON", E. ALBERMAN#, V. BERAL" AJ SWERDLOW,... more
... Hum. Genet. (2001), 65, 167176 Printed in Great Britain 167 Mortality and cancer incidence in persons with Down's syndrome, their parents and siblings C. HERMON", E. ALBERMAN#, V. BERAL" AJ SWERDLOW, MD$. ... Correspondence: C. Hermon, Fax: 01865 310545. ...
Research Interests:
1. Lancet. 1979 Jan 6;1(8106):50. Planning an amniocentesis service for Down syndrome. Alberman E, Berry AC, Polani PE. PMID: 83501 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]. Publication Types: Letter. MeSH Terms. Adult; Amniocentesis ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
I have tried to show, using a contemporary international data set, the overall consistency in shape of curves of national birthweight distributions which reflect the biological and social characteristics of the population from which they... more
I have tried to show, using a contemporary international data set, the overall consistency in shape of curves of national birthweight distributions which reflect the biological and social characteristics of the population from which they are derived, and the effects of changes in these characteristics. For several countries, including the United States and England and Wales, the trends in recent years have been such as to shift the main distribution upwards, so that the median weight has increased. Also shown has been the close and specific relationship within each population group between infant mortality and birthweight, with sharp falls of mortality with increasing birthweight. It has been shown elsewhere that similar patterns are seen with short- and long-term morbidity, thus underlining the importance to be attached to increasing birthweight particularly in underprivileged groups. In the short term this can be done by reducing the frequency of parental smoking, where this is a ...
Research Interests:
Over the past 3 or 4 years the practice of prenatal diagnosis of certain congenital defects, coupled with the termination of pregnancies with affected fetuses, has moved from the research into the service field. While the methods were... more
Over the past 3 or 4 years the practice of prenatal diagnosis of certain congenital defects, coupled with the termination of pregnancies with affected fetuses, has moved from the research into the service field. While the methods were still in the early stages of develop-ment the ...
Research Interests:
The prevalence of educational subnormality of a severe form (between 3 and 3.6 per thousand children of school age) and the prevalence of cerebral palsy (between 2 and 2.4 per thousand) have been fairly stable up to recent years. This... more
The prevalence of educational subnormality of a severe form (between 3 and 3.6 per thousand children of school age) and the prevalence of cerebral palsy (between 2 and 2.4 per thousand) have been fairly stable up to recent years. This stability has also applied to the relative proportions of the different major causes contributing to the handicaps. Where the ascertainment of such conditions is good, their prevalence monitored and the life expectancy of affected individuals estimated, any changes in prevalence can be used to measure the effectiveness of new forms of prevention, or alternatively to indicate the existence of new environmental hazards. Only a multi-pronged campaign against many of the recognized causes will have a substantial impact on prevalence.
Research Interests:
Two series of pregnancies were studied to investigate the relationship between maternal smoking and the risk of fetal Down's syndrome. In the first series, ascertained in the 1960s, in which smoking habits were determined after... more
Two series of pregnancies were studied to investigate the relationship between maternal smoking and the risk of fetal Down's syndrome. In the first series, ascertained in the 1960s, in which smoking habits were determined after the outcome of pregnancy was known, the proportion of smokers (47 per cent) among the 461 women whose pregnancies ended in the birth of an infant with Down's syndrome was similar to that in the 461 controls (46 per cent) who had pregnancies affected by other congenital disorders. In the second series, ascertained between 1973 and 1984, smoking habits were determined by measurement of cotinine in antenatal serum samples that were routinely collected and stored or, if a serum sample was not available, from information in the antenatal notes. In this series, the proportion of smokers (14 per cent) among the 91 women who had pregnancies associated with Down's syndrome was lower than that among 413 controls (19 per cent), though this was not statistically significant. Collectively, our results provide no evidence for an association between fetal Down's syndrome and smoking. Other published studies found a deficit of smokers among women who had pregnancies associated with Down's syndrome. This may be partly due to some studies not taking adequate account of maternal age (older women are more likely to have had a Down's syndrome pregnancy but are less likely to be smokers) and partly due to the greater tendency for positive findings to be published than negative ones.
Research Interests:
To pilot the use of linked routine records for auditing Down syndrome prenatal serum screening and diagnostic tests. The cohort studied were 110 272 patients of 4 London maternity units that offered the... more
To pilot the use of linked routine records for auditing Down syndrome prenatal serum screening and diagnostic tests. The cohort studied were 110 272 patients of 4 London maternity units that offered the Bart's maternal serum tests any time between 1990 and 1999. Audit was based on linked data derived from obstetric records, referral data on maternal serum screening and/or prenatal diagnoses. Cytogenetic reports without matching obstetric data were retained in the cohort as they included fetal deaths or terminations. (1) Significant independent influences on uptake of serum screening (58% overall) were maternal age, ethnicity, year and referring hospital, and those on uptake of prenatal diagnosis (4% overall) were screening result (54% uptake after positive screen), maternal age, year and referring hospital; (2) detection, false-positive rates and odds of being affected after positive results were respectively 49%, 4% and 1 : 59 between 1990 and 1994, and 78%, 7% and 1 : 58 after 1994. Using maternal age alone (cut-off > or =37 at delivery), these would have been respectively 40%, 7% and 1 : 96 between 1990 and 1994, and 40%, 9% and 1 : 107 between 1995 and 1999. Ongoing audit of DS prenatal programmes could be derived from computerised maternity data sets if they included fetal deaths, and relevant laboratory and ultrasound findings.
Research Interests: Down Syndrome, London, Pregnancy, Humans, Record Linkage, and 13 moreFemale, Prenatal, Clinical Sciences, Adult, Prenatal Diagnosis, Diagnostic Test, Sensitivity and Specificity, Utilization review, Pilot Projects, Medical Audit, Cohort Studies, mass Screening, and Paediatrics and reproductive medicine
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Child Development, Pregnancy, Humans, Child, Unwanted pregnancy and abortion, and 13 moreHospitalization, Female, Mental Disorders, Feeding Behavior, Semantic Differential, Newborn Infant, Questionnaires, Maternal Age, Hostility, Illegitimacy, Child preschool, Mother child relations, and Medical and Health Sciences
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Quality of life, Cerebral Palsy, Adolescent, Intellectual Disability, England, and 15 moreMultivariate Analysis, Hydrocephalus, Humans, Child, Female, Male, Infant, Risk factors, Clinical Sciences, Survival Rate, Risk Factors, Disabled Persons, Child preschool, Cause of death, and Paediatrics and reproductive medicine
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Cerebral Palsy, England, Birth Weight, Humans, Child, and 13 moreFemale, Male, Registries, Clinical Sciences, Newborn Infant, Public health systems and services research, Sex Factors, Prognosis, Age Factors, Gestational Age, Disabled Persons, Child preschool, and Paediatrics and reproductive medicine
Research Interests: Epidemiology, Cerebral Palsy, Intellectual Disability, Sweden, Birth Weight, and 15 morePregnancy, Complication, Humans, Female, Etiology, Clinical Sciences, Newborn Infant, Western Australia, Prevalence, Great Britain, Risk Factor, Public health systems and services research, Prognosis, Nino, and Paediatrics and reproductive medicine
The present account is of data available from the 1958 British national birth cohort and its follow-up to the age of 23 years. It shows an increase in adult height between the cohort members and their parents, amounting to an average 1.2... more
The present account is of data available from the 1958 British national birth cohort and its follow-up to the age of 23 years. It shows an increase in adult height between the cohort members and their parents, amounting to an average 1.2 +/- 0.11 (SEM) cm between the daughters and their mothers and 3.0 +/- 0.12 cm between the sons and their fathers. Factors in early life which contributed jointly to a significant increase in adult height included, as well as sex and parental height, birthweight and maternal pre-pregnant weight, while increasing gestational age had a negative effect. Overall these factors accounted for 71% of the variance of the cohort members' height. Measuring the intergenerational difference between individual pairs of sons and father and daughters and mothers allows to some extent for social and genetic influences. This showed that the size of the difference was increased by increasing intrauterine growth rate, and falling paternal social class. These findings demonstrate again the lifelong influence on offspring of circumstances pertaining at their birth and explain why it may take more than one generation to overcome the effects of childhood disadvantage.
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Genetics, Translocations, England, Humans, Wales, and 8 moreFemale, Male, Mothers, Registries, Clinical Sciences, Trisomy 21, Adult, and Mosaicism
We have carried out a comparative study on differences in operative obstetrical practice during the 1970s and 1980s, in Norway, Scotland and the United States of America. It was based on information from official sources in each country.... more
We have carried out a comparative study on differences in operative obstetrical practice during the 1970s and 1980s, in Norway, Scotland and the United States of America. It was based on information from official sources in each country. We compared rates of cesarean section (CS) and operative vaginal delivery according to maternal age, parity and gestational age at delivery, birthweight, fetal presentation, and other characteristics of the child, indications for operative delivery, and hospital size and teaching status. While all three countries had rising CS rates, the Scottish rates, which lay between those of the U.S.A. and Norway, rose more slowly than in the latter. In 1985, the rates were 22.8% in the U.S.A., 13.5% in Scotland and 12.0% in Norway. Use of forceps and vacuum extractor declined in the U.S.A. and Scotland, but increased in Norway. CS rates in mothers aged 35 and over were uniformly high in 1970 and rose relatively little. Specific CS rates for very low birthweight children, breech presentation and twins rose to 30-50% in all three countries with some national trend differences. Rate ratios of operative delivery between large and small hospitals fell from about 2-3 in the 1970s to approximately 1.5 in 1985, least markedly in Scotland. The impact of previous CS as an indication for CS cannot be resolved because of notification and recording differences.
Research Interests: International Cooperation, Birth Weight, Norway, Pregnancy, Humans, and 15 moreScotland, United States, Female, Male, Data Collection, Adult, Maternal Age, Infant Mortality, Public health systems and services research, Cesarean Section, Parity, Gestational Age, International Collaboration, Fetal death, and Paediatrics and reproductive medicine
The proportion of Down's syndrome pregnancies detected prenatally in England and Wales is lower in younger mothers than in older mothers. This paper examines the reasons for this apparent age inequality. We used data from the National... more
The proportion of Down's syndrome pregnancies detected prenatally in England and Wales is lower in younger mothers than in older mothers. This paper examines the reasons for this apparent age inequality. We used data from the National Down Syndrome Cytogenetic Register (NDSCR) to examine the time trend of the proportion of Down's syndrome pregnancies diagnosed prenatally according to maternal age over the years 1989-2004 in England and Wales. A lower proportion of younger mothers had their Down's syndrome pregnancy detected prenatally than older mothers; however, this gap has been closing over time. For example, for mothers under 25 years of age only 13% of Down's syndrome pregnancies were detected prenatally from 1989 to 1992, with this figure rising to 34% in 2001-2004, compared with proportions of 74% in both periods for mothers over 44 years of age. A lower uptake of screening among younger women could not explain these differences. The differences in detection r...
Research Interests:
In recent years there has been a tendency for women to have their babies at older ages. In the absence of antenatal screening and selec-tive termination this would result in an increase in the birth prevalence of Down's syndrome.... more
In recent years there has been a tendency for women to have their babies at older ages. In the absence of antenatal screening and selec-tive termination this would result in an increase in the birth prevalence of Down's syndrome. We have previously documented this trend in ...
Research Interests:
To revise the estimates of maternal age specific live birth prevalence of Down's syndrome in the absence of antenatal screening and selective termination using newly available data. Data were used from the National Down Syndrome... more
To revise the estimates of maternal age specific live birth prevalence of Down's syndrome in the absence of antenatal screening and selective termination using newly available data. Data were used from the National Down Syndrome Cytogenetic Register (NDSCR), which contains information on nearly all antenatally or postnatally diagnosed cases of Down's syndrome in which a karyotype was confirmed between 1989 and 1998 in England and Wales. It is the largest single series of data on the prevalence of Down's syndrome. The prevalence does not continue increasing at an increasing rate with age above age 45 as has been previously assumed. Above this age the rate of increase declines with increasing age. The overall age pattern is sigmoidal. A new logit logistic model is proposed which fits the data well. The risk of a Down's syndrome live birth is given by: risk=1/(1+exp(7.330-4.211/(1+exp(-0.282x(age-37.23))))).
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
To illustrate regional changes that occurred in screening for Down's syndrome (trisomy 21) in England and Wales from 1989 to 2008. The National Down Syndrome Cytogenetic Register has collected data on all ante- and postnatal... more
To illustrate regional changes that occurred in screening for Down's syndrome (trisomy 21) in England and Wales from 1989 to 2008. The National Down Syndrome Cytogenetic Register has collected data on all ante- and postnatal diagnoses of Down's syndrome in England and Wales since 1989 (n = 27,954). The percentages of (i) diagnoses made antenatally, (ii) antenatal diagnoses that had nuchal translucency (NT) measured, and (iii) antenatal diagnoses in mothers aged 37 and over with advanced maternal age as the sole recorded indication for diagnosis are presented according to where the mother lived (Government Office Region), year of diagnosis (1989-1994, 1995-2000, 2001-2006, 2007-2008), and maternal age (<37 years, ≥37 years). The percentage of cases diagnosed antenatally has increased in younger women but varies between regions. It remained relatively constant at approximately 70% in older women. The use of NT measurement in antenatal screening has expanded rapidly but varies regionally, being most common in London and the South East where, in 2007-2008, over 75% of antenatal diagnoses in older women had NT measured. The sole indication of advanced maternal age has substantially reduced, and was less than 10% in older mothers in all regions in 2007-2008. There are regional and maternal age variations in Down's syndrome screening and diagnosis. Some regions used NT measurements, and eliminated advanced maternal age as sole reason for antenatal diagnostic testing more quickly than others. The reasons for variations need to be identified and addressed to ensure that when new screening techniques become available, regional differences are minimized.
Research Interests:
Pregnancies affected by Down syndrome (DS) have a greater risk of spontaneous fetal loss than those that are unaffected. In this article, we investigate the relationship between maternal age and the risk of spontaneous fetal loss in DS... more
Pregnancies affected by Down syndrome (DS) have a greater risk of spontaneous fetal loss than those that are unaffected. In this article, we investigate the relationship between maternal age and the risk of spontaneous fetal loss in DS pregnancies. Fetal loss at different maternal ages were estimated by survival analysis using follow-up of 5177 prenatally diagnosed cases. The maternal age effect on loss rate was subsequently confirmed by a re-analysis of published comparisons of the maternal age-specific prevalence of DS at different gestational ages. The average fetal loss rate between the time of chorionic villus sampling (CVS) and term was 32% (95% CI: 26-38), increasing from 23% (95% CI: 16-31) for women aged 25 to 44% (33-56) for women aged 45. The average fetal loss rate between the time of amniocentesis and term was 25% (21-31), increasing from 19% (14-27) to 33% (26-45) across the same age range. The fetal loss rate in DS pregnancies increases with maternal age, and this has consequences when estimating the live birth prevalence of DS in the presence of prenatal diagnosis and termination, and when assessing the performance of prenatal screening techniques.