Childhood poverty and mental health disorders in early adulthood: evidence from a Brazilian cohort study

Risk of psychiatric hospitalization in low-income youth: longitudinal findings from the 100 Million Brazilian Cohort

BACKGROUND

Youth psychiatric hospitalizations have been associated with negative outcomes, including premature death and post-discharge self-harm. Identifying risk factors for youth psychiatric hospitalization is crucial for informing prevention strategies. We aimed to evaluate the risk factors for psychiatric hospitalizations among low-income youth in Brazil.

METHODS

This cohort study used interpersonal violence and psychiatric hospitalization data linked to the 100 Million Brazilian Cohort baseline. We considered 9 985 917 youths aged 5-24 years who enrolled at the baseline, between 2011 and 2018. We estimated the incidence rate (IR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for psychiatric hospitalization by calculating the number of hospitalizations per person-year in 100 000 individuals at risk. The multilevel, multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression estimated the hazard risks (HR) with 95% CI for psychiatric hospitalization.

RESULTS

The IR of psychiatric hospitalization was 12.28 per 100 000 person-years (95% CI, 11.96-12.6). Interpersonal violence victimization was the main risk factor for youth psychiatric hospitalization (HR, 5.24; 95% CI, 4.61-5.96). Other risk factors for psychiatric hospitalization included living with the oldest family member who had low education (HR, 2.51; 95% CI, 2.16-2.91) or was unemployed (HR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.36-1.62), living with seven or more family members (HR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.49-2.26) and being male (HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.21-1.36).

CONCLUSIONS

Urgent action is needed to prevent youth from suffering violence. Addressing this may alleviate the mental health burden in developmental ages, benefiting youth, families and the government through reduced costs in preventable psychiatric hospitalizations.

Comparing mental health semi-structured diagnostic interviews and symptom checklists to predict poor life outcomes: an 8-year cohort study from childhood to young adulthood in Brazil

BACKGROUND

Semi-structured diagnostic interviews and symptom checklists present similar internal reliability. We aim to investigate whether they differ in predicting poor life outcomes in the transition from childhood to young adulthood.

METHODS

For this longitudinal study, we used data from the Brazilian High Risk Cohort Study for Childhood Mental Health Conditions. Eligible participants were aged 6-14 years on the day of study enrolment (January to February, 2010) and were enrolled in public schools by a biological parent in Porto Alegre and São Paulo, Brazil. 2511 young people and their caregivers were assessed at baseline in 2010-11, and 1917 were assessed 8 years later (2018-19; 76·3% retention). Clinical thresholds were derived using semi-structured parent-report interview based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, according to the Developmental and Well-being Assessment (DAWBA), and clinical scores as defined by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; T-score ≥70 considered positive caseness). At 8 years, participants were assessed for a composite life-threatening outcome (a composite of death, suicide attempts, severe self-harm, psychiatric inpatient admission, or emergency department visits) and a composite poor life chances outcome (a composite of any criminal conviction, substance misuse, or school dropout). We evaluated the accuracy of DAWBA and CBCL to predict these outcomes. Logistic regression models were adjusted for age, sex, race or ethnicity, study site, and socioeconomic class.

FINDINGS

DAWBA and CBCL had similar sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and test accuracy for both composite outcomes and their components. Any mental health problem, as classified by DAWBA and CBCL, was independently associated with the composite life-threatening outcome (DAWBA adjusted odds ratio 1·62, 95% CI 1·20-2·18; CBCL 1·66, 1·19-2·30), but only CBCL independently predicted poor life chances (1·56, 1·19-2·04). Participants classified by both approaches did not have higher odds of the life-threatening outcome when compared with participants classified by DAWBA or CBCL alone, nor for the poor life chances outcome when compared with those classified by CBCL alone.

INTERPRETATION

Classifying children and adolescents based on a semi-structured diagnostic interview was not statistically different to symptom checklist in terms of test accuracy and predictive validity for relevant life outcomes. Classification based on symptom checklist might be a valid alternative to costly and time-consuming methods to identify young people at risk for poor life outcomes.

FUNDING

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo; and Medical Research Council, European Research Council.

TRANSLATION

For the Portuguese translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Patterns of Social Determinants of Health and Child Mental Health, Cognition, and Physical Health

Importance

Social determinants of health (SDOH) influence child health. However, most previous studies have used individual, small-set, or cherry-picked SDOH variables without examining unbiased computed SDOH patterns from high-dimensional SDOH factors to investigate associations with child mental health, cognition, and physical health.

Objective

To identify SDOH patterns and estimate their associations with children's mental, cognitive, and physical developmental outcomes.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This population-based cohort study included children aged 9 to 10 years at baseline and their caregivers enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study between 2016 and 2021. The ABCD Study includes 21 sites across 17 states.

Exposures

Eighty-four neighborhood-level, geocoded variables spanning 7 domains of SDOH, including bias, education, physical and health infrastructure, natural environment, socioeconomic status, social context, and crime and drugs, were studied. Hierarchical agglomerative clustering was used to identify SDOH patterns.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Associations of SDOH and child mental health (internalizing and externalizing behaviors) and suicidal behaviors, cognitive function (performance, reading skills), and physical health (body mass index, exercise, sleep disorder) were estimated using mixed-effects linear and logistic regression models.

Results

Among 10 504 children (baseline median [SD] age, 9.9 [0.6] years; 5510 boys [52.5%] and 4994 girls [47.5%]; 229 Asian [2.2%], 1468 Black [14.0%], 2128 Hispanic [20.3%], 5565 White [53.0%], and 1108 multiracial [10.5%]), 4 SDOH patterns were identified: pattern 1, affluence (4078 children [38.8%]); pattern 2, high-stigma environment (2661 children [25.3%]); pattern 3, high socioeconomic deprivation (2653 children [25.3%]); and pattern 4, high crime and drug sales, low education, and high population density (1112 children [10.6%]). The SDOH patterns were distinctly associated with child health outcomes. Children exposed to socioeconomic deprivation (SDOH pattern 3) showed the worst health profiles, manifesting more internalizing (β = 0.75; 95% CI, 0.14-1.37) and externalizing (β = 1.43; 95% CI, 0.83-2.02) mental health problems, lower cognitive performance, and adverse physical health.

Conclusions

This study shows that an unbiased quantitative analysis of multidimensional SDOH can permit the determination of how SDOH patterns are associated with child developmental outcomes. Children exposed to socioeconomic deprivation showed the worst outcomes relative to other SDOH categories. These findings suggest the need to determine whether improvement in socioeconomic conditions can enhance child developmental outcomes.

Fatores de risco e proteção para o desenvolvimento na primeiríssima infância durante a pandemia por COVID-19

RESUMO Objetivo: Analisar os fatores de risco e proteção para o desenvolvimento de crianças menores de três anos durante a pandemia por COVID-19. Método: Estudo transversal de abordagem quantitativa realizado em três centros de educação infantil na cidade de São Paulo em outubro de 2020. Os dados foram coletados por meio de questionário online. Os fatores de risco e proteção foram mensurados com o instrumento Primeira Infância Para Adultos Saudáveis e o status do desenvolvimento da criança foi aferido por meio do instrumento Caregiver Reported Early Development Instruments – CREDI. Resultados: Participaram do estudo 108 responsáveis por crianças de até três anos. Morar com os avós e participar de programas de transferência de renda foram fatores de proteção para o desenvolvimento infantil. A família ser chefiada por mulher representou um fator de risco significativo para o desenvolvimento da criança. Conclusão: Ações intersetoriais de apoio às famílias chefiadas por mulheres e acesso aos programas de transferência de renda são essenciais para a promoção da equidade de oportunidades para o desenvolvimento de crianças na primeiríssima infância.

Risk and protective factors to early childhood development during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the risk and protective factors to the development of children under three years of age during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Cross-sectional, quantitative study carried out in three early childhood education centers in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, in October 2020. The data were collected with an online questionnaire. Risk and protection factors were measured with the Primeira Infância Para Adultos Saudáveis (Early Childhood For Healthy Adults) instrument and the children's development status was measured using the Caregiver Reported Early Development Instruments – CREDI. Results: The study included 108 parents and guardians of children up to three years of age. Living with grandparents and participating in cash transfer programs were protective factors for child development. The family being headed by a woman posed a significant risk factor for child development. Conclusion: Intersectoral actions to support families headed by women and access to cash transfer programs are essential for promoting equity opportunities for the development in early childhood.