The brain in motion: effects of different types of physical activity on primary school children's academic achievement and brain activation

In this dissertation it is shown that primary school children with higher levels of physical fitness and better developed motor skills perform better at school. These relations were found to depend on the academic domain, as physical fitness predicted achievement in reading and mathematics, whereas motor skills were predictive of mathematics and...

Profiling the preterm or VLBW born adolescent; implications of the Dutch POPS cohort follow-up studies

In 1983, data of a unique nationwide cohort of 1338 very preterm (< 32 weeks of gestation) or VLBW (birth weight < 1500 g) infants in the Netherlands was collected and followed at several ages until they reached the age of 19 years. At 19 years of age a more extensive follow-up study was done, including questionnaires, tests on a computer and a...

Predicting the duration of sickness absence for patients with common mental disorders in occupational health care

Objectives: This study attempted to determine the factors that best predict the duration of absence from work among employees with common mental disorders. Methods: A cohort of 188 employees, of whom 102 were teachers, on sick leave with common mental disorders was followed for 1 year. Only information potentially available to the occupational...

Is attrition bias a problem in neonatal follow-up?

Aim: To assess whether attrition rate influences outcome in the follow-up of very preterm infants. Study design: In a national follow-up study of infants born alive in 1983 in the Netherlands with a gestational age less than 32 weeks and/or a birth weight less than 1500 g, outcome was assessed separately for adolescents who responded early or...

Nonresponse bias in a follow-up study of 19-year-old adolescents born as preterm infants

Objective. To assess the effect of demographic and neonatal risk factors and outcome at the last available assessment on the probability of full responders, postal responders (those who only responded to the mailed questionnaire), or nonresponders in a follow-up study of 19-year-old adolescents who were born as preterm infants. Design. The 19...

An implementation study of two evidence-based exercise and health education programmes for older adults with osteoarthritis of the knee and hip

Implementation studies are recommended to assess the feasibility and effectiveness in real-life of programmes which have been tested in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We report on an implementation study of two evidence-based exercise and health education programmes for older adults with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee of hip. Three types...

Development of general and central obesity from childhood into early adulthood in African American and European American males and females with a family history of cardiovascular disease

Background: Obesity is associated with multiple health problems, often originating in childhood. Objective: The objective was to investigate differences in the development of adiposity from childhood to adulthood as related to race, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES). Design: Individual growth curve modeling for waist circumference, body mass...

School-age outcomes in children who were extremely low birth weight from four international population-based cohorts

Objective. The aim of this study was to determine whether leaming and school problems in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) and reference children differ between cohorts in different countries. Methods. Participants were 4 international population-based cohorts of ELBW survivors who were 500 to 1000 g birth weight from New Jersey, central-west...

Behaviour and school achievement in patients with early and continuously treated phenylketonuria

Thirty patients with early and continuously treated phenylketonuria (PKU) between 8 and 20 years of age were compared with 30 controls, matched individually for age, sex, and educational level of both parents, on behaviour rating scales for parents and teachers as well as a school achievement scale. PKU patients, as a group, demonstrated more...

Noise exposure and public health

Exposure to noise constitutes a health risk. There is sufficient scientific evidence that noise exposure can induce hearing impairment, hypertension and ischemic heart disease, annoyance, sleep disturbance, and decreased school performance. For other effects such as changes in the immune system and birth defects, the evidence is limited. Most...

School performance at nine years of age in very premature and very low birth weight infants: Perinatal risk factors and predictors at five years of age

To assess the impact of both perinatal disorders and developmental problems identified at preschool age on school performance, we followed a virtually complete birth cohort of very premature (<32 completed weeks of gestation) and very low birth weight infants until they were 9 years of age. In 84% of the survivors (n = 813), data on school...

Screening for phenylketonuria (PKU) in the Netherlands

In the period 1st September 1974 to 1st Januari 1989 2,511,000 infants (99.3 of all livebirths) were screened for PKU. Treatment was required in 158 of the 330 referred infants. The diagnosis of these 158 patients was PKU (137), hyperphenylalaninaemia (HPA) (19) and malignant HPA (2). Three cases had a false-negative screening result. The...