The Copenhagen County child cohort: Design of a longitudinal study of child mental health

The objective of the study is to investigate the prevalence, distribution and predictors of mental health problems in 5–7-year-old Danish children in the general population. This study is a 5–7-year follow-up study of a birth cohort of 6,090 children, the Copenhagen Child Cohort 2000. The extended version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was answered by parents and pre-school teachers. Data from Danish national registers included perinatal data, socioeconomic data and data on child mental illness diagnosed at hospital in preschool age. Register data from the first year of life was obtained from 99.7% of the children in the cohort. Of 5,898 eligible children, 3,501 participated in the SDQ assessment (59%). The overall estimated 6-month prevalence of mental health problems was 4.8% (95% CI 4.1–5.6). Conduct problems were found in 3.0% (95% CI 2.4–3.6), problems of hyperactivity/inattention in 0.7% (95% CI 0.4–1.0) and emotional problems in 1.5% (95% CI 1.1–1.9). Boys showed a higher risk of having mental health problems as compared to girls: risk ratio 2.0 (95% CI 1.5–2.8). Several markers of socioeconomic disadvantages were associated with mental health problems at 5–7 years of age. In conclusion, the 6-month prevalence of SDQ-measured mental health problems was relatively low in Danish children when compared with findings from several European countries, but was in line with findings from other studies in Nordic countries. The lower prevalence might reflect differences in psychosocial risk load and environmental stress given the social and cultural context

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“…The methodology of the CCC2000 baseline study cohort has been described in more detail elsewhere [17].…”

Section: Study Populationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The overall aim of the CCC2000 is to study the presentation, developmental pathways and risk mechanisms of psychopathology longitudinally from birth [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The prevalence of SDQ-measured mental health problems at age 5–7 years and identification of predictors from birth to preschool age in a Danish birth cohort: The Copenhagen Child Cohort 2000

Elberling

Linneberg

Olsen

et al. 2010

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry

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“…The cohort has been followed prospectively since birth. 32 Theanalysesinthecurrentstudyincluded 1327 children from a random sample (N = 3000) drawn from the cohort at baseline of whom 308 children (23.2%) were assessed to have $1 FSS at the age of 5 to 7 years 4 (Fig 1).…”

Section: Study Populationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional Somatic Symptoms and Consultation Patterns in 5- to 7-Year-Olds

et al. 2013

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OBJECTIVE: To investigate the frequency of and factors linked to medical consultation for functional somatic symptoms (FSS) among 5- to 7-year-old children. METHODS: We assessed 1327 children from the Copenhagen Child Cohort 2000 for FSS at ages 5 to 7 years. Register data on past health care use in general practice were compared between children with and those without parent-reported medical consultation for FSS at the age of 5 to 7 years: respective consulters (n = 96) and nonconsulters (n = 211) and children without FSS (n = 1019). Degree of parental worries about the child’s symptoms and parent-reported symptom characteristics and associated impacts were compared between consulters and nonconsulters. RESULTS: Among 308 children with FSS, 31.1% were consulters. Being a consulter was significantly associated with multisymptomatic presentation, parental worries about the symptoms, symptom impact, and a higher past health care use in general practice. Multiple logistic regression analysis controlled for gender, comorbid physical disease, and symptom severity revealed that the number of face-to-face contacts in general practice during the child’s first 4 years of life predicted being an consulter for FSS at 5 to 7 years (odds ratio 1.03, 95% confidence interval 1.00–1.06; odds ratio interpreted per unit change in number of contacts). CONCLUSIONS: This study adds to our understanding of health care use for FSS in childhood by highlighting the influence of parents’ early consultation patterns with their child and the influence of parental perceptions of their child’s health and FSS-related impact on pediatric health care use for FSS. Management of health care use in children with FSS should address these aspects.

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“…Copenhagen County Child Cohort: 2000 (Skovgaard et al, 2005b). One of only two studies in this review with a focus on infant psychopathology and a detailed clinical assessment at 18 months, this study involved public health nurses and health registers following 6,090 infants from Copenhagen, Denmark, from birth.…”

Section: Cohorts Recruited At Birthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Within 2 weeks of birth, demographic, psychosocial and birth data were collected from mothers, and the child's health (including mental health domains) assessed. Through parent report, direct observation and standardized physical and developmental assessments, information was collected at three further points in the first 10 months on the general development of the child, the relationship between mother and child, and family relations (Skovgaard et al, 2005b). Specific developmental milestones (psychomotor development, language / communication appropriate for age, social and emotional state) were assessed at each of these early data collection points, and the mental health of the infant was assessed comprehensively, including domains of psychomotor regulation, eating, sleeping, language development, social interaction, emotional state and mother-infant relation (Skovgaard et al, 2005b).…”

Section: Cohorts Recruited At Birthmentioning

confidence: 99%

What have birth cohort studies asked about genetic, pre- and perinatal exposures and child and adolescent onset mental health outcomes? A systematic review

Thompson

Kemp

Wilson

et al. 2009

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry

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Background: Increased understanding of early neurobehavioural development is needed to prevent, identify and treat childhood psychopathology most effectively at the earliest possible stage. Prospective birth cohorts can elucidate the association of genes, environment and their interactions with neurobehavioural development. Methods:We conducted a systematic review of the birth cohort literature. On the basis of internet searches and 6,248 peer-reviewed references, 105 longitudinal epidemiological studies were identified. Twenty studies met inclusion criteria (prospectively recruited, population-based cohort studies including at least one assessment before the end of the perinatal period and at least one assessment of behaviour, temperament/personality, neuropsychiatric or psychiatric status before age 19 years) and their methodologies were reviewed in full.Results: While the birth cohort studies did study some aspects of behaviour and neurodevelopment, observations in the early months and years were rare. Furthermore, aspects of sampling method, sample size, data collection, design and breadth and depth of measurement in some studies made research questions about neurodevelopment difficult to answer. Existing birth cohort studies have yielded limited information on how pre-and perinatal factors and early neurodevelopment relate to child psychopathology. Conclusions:Further epidemiological research is required with a specific focus on early neurodevelopment. Studies are needed which include measures of early childhood psychopathology and involve long term follow up.

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The Copenhagen County child cohort: Design of a longitudinal study of child mental health

Cited by 70 publications

References 11 publications

The prevalence of SDQ-measured mental health problems at age 5–7 years and identification of predictors from birth to preschool age in a Danish birth cohort: The Copenhagen Child Cohort 2000

The prevalence of SDQ-measured mental health problems at age 5–7 years and identification of predictors from birth to preschool age in a Danish birth cohort: The Copenhagen Child Cohort 2000

Functional Somatic Symptoms and Consultation Patterns in 5- to 7-Year-Olds

What have birth cohort studies asked about genetic, pre- and perinatal exposures and child and adolescent onset mental health outcomes? A systematic review

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