Effects of Infant Egg Consumption on Child Health and Cognition Development
Condition: Growth & Development; Obesity; Cardiovascular Risk Factor; Metabolic Syndrome; Food Allergy; Cognitive Developmental Delay
MeSH terms: Metabolic Syndrome; Food Hypersensitivity
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      The objective of this study is to examine how infant egg consumption (age of introduction and
      frequency of intake) influences physical growth, obesity, cardio-metabolic health, risk of
      food allergy, and cognition development in mid-childhood and adolescence.
    

Detailed description: 
      The investigators will use existing data from two US longitudinal birth cohorts that tracked
      mother-child dyads from pregnancy to adolescence: 1) Project Viva (1999-present) that
      enrolled 2,341 pregnancies and followed 2,128 children at delivery, 6 months, then yearly
      from 1 year to 15 years of child age, and 2) the Infant Feeding Practices Study II (IFPS II,
      2005-2007) that enrolled 3,033 pregnancies with surveys in late pregnancy, neonatal (1
      month), then monthly from 2 months (N=2,552) to 12 months of infant age, and at 6 years. For
      Aim 1, the investigators will classify infants based on their age of egg introduction: never,
      <2 months, 2-3 months, 4-5 months, 6-8 months, 9-11 months, and 12 months. The investigators
      will compare physical growth, obesity, cardio-metabolic health, food allergy, and cognition
      test scores in mid-childhood and adolescence. The investigators will fit multi-variable
      linear or logistic regression models with fractional polynomial functions of the infant age
      of egg introduction. Both linear (e.g., earlier introduction, a higher probability of the
      outcome) and non-linear (e.g., threshold effect) associations will be tested. For Aim 2, The
      investigators will classify infants based on their frequency of egg intake: never,
      <once/week, once/week, 2-4 times/week, nearly daily or daily, and 2 times/day. The
      investigators will use similar analytic methods mentioned above to compare their later
      outcomes. Finally, the investigators will create an average probability of multiple child
      outcomes to balance across different aspects of child health and development. The
      investigators will identify the lowest-risk infant egg consumption when the corresponding
      average predicted probability of the related adverse outcomes is the lowest.
    

Intervention name(s): Infant egg consumption (i.e., age of introduction and frequency of intake)
Intervention type(s): Other
Observational model: Cohort
Time perspective: Prospective
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        The investigators will use existing data from two US longitudinal birth cohorts that
        tracked mother-child dyads from pregnancy to adolescence: 1) Project Viva (1999-present)
        that enrolled 2,341 pregnancies and followed 2,128 children at delivery, 6 months, then
        yearly from 1 year to 15 years of child age, and 2) the Infant Feeding Practices Study II
        (IFPS II, 2005-2007) that enrolled 3,033 pregnancies with surveys in late pregnancy,
        neonatal (1 month), then monthly from 2 months (N=2,552) to 12 months of infant age, and at
        6 years.