Abstract
Background:Access to reliable birth data (birthweight (BW) and gestational age (GA)) is essential for the identification of individuals who are at subsequent health risk.Aims:This study aimed to explore the feasibility of retrospectively collecting birth data for schoolchildren from parental questionnaires (PQ) and general practitioners (GPs) in primary care clinics, in inner city neighbourhoods with high density of ethnic minority and disadvantaged populations.Methods:Attempts were made to obtain birth data from parents and GPs for 2,171 London primary schoolchildren (34% White, 29% Black African origin, 25% South Asians, 12% Other) as part of a larger study of respiratory health.Results:Information on BW and/or GA were obtained from parents for 2,052 (95%) children. Almost all parents (2,045) gave consent to access their children’s health records held by GPs. On the basis of parental information, GPs of 1,785 children were successfully contacted, and GPs of 1,202 children responded. Birth data were retrieved for only 482 children (22% of 2,052). Missing birth data from GPs were associated with non-white ethnicity, non-UK born, English not the dominant language at home or socioeconomic disadvantage. Paired data were available in 376 children for BW and in 407 children for GA. No significant difference in BW or GA was observed between PQ and GP data, with <5% difference between sources regardless of normal or low birth weight, or term or preterm status.Conclusions:Parental recall of birth data for primary schoolchildren yields high quality and rapid return of data, and it should be considered as a viable alternative in which there is limited access to birth records. It provides the potential to include children with an increased risk of health problems within epidemiological studies.
Highlights
Despite increasing evidence that pre-natal and early post-natal insults to the developing lung may affect later respiratory health,[1,2,3,4] remarkably little emphasis has been placed on the need for rapid access to reliable birth data such as birth weight (BW) and gestational age (GA).[5]
This study provided a unique opportunity to examine the feasibility of collecting essential information relating to birth status from both parents and general practitioners (GP) using data collected from the Size and Lung function In Children (SLIC) study, which is the largest study of lung function undertaken in a multi-ethnic population of London primary schoolchildren to date
The aims of this study were to (1) determine the feasibility of collecting BW and GA from parents and general practitioners (GP) in primary care surgeries, where all children are registered for health care; (2) assess the agreement of BW and GA data between GPs and parental recall; and (3) estimate the extent to which reliance on parental data may bias identification of full-term (i.e., ⩾ 37 weeks GA) and appropriately grown (i.e., ⩾ 2.5 kg BW) children for epidemiological studies, on the basis of data collected as part of the SLIC study.[16]
Summary
Despite increasing evidence that pre-natal and early post-natal insults to the developing lung may affect later respiratory health,[1,2,3,4] remarkably little emphasis has been placed on the need for rapid access to reliable birth data such as birth weight (BW) and gestational age (GA).[5]. Some studies have shown maternal recall to be reliable,[10,11,12,13] others suggest a bias, with poorer recall from mothers with more than one child or who are not of White European origin.[14,15] This study provided a unique opportunity to examine the feasibility of collecting essential information relating to birth status from both parents and GPs using data collected from the Size and Lung function In Children (SLIC) study, which is the largest study of lung function undertaken in a multi-ethnic population of London primary schoolchildren to date. AIMS: This study aimed to explore the feasibility of retrospectively collecting birth data for schoolchildren from parental questionnaires (PQ) and general practitioners (GPs) in primary care clinics, in inner city neighbourhoods with high density of ethnic minority and disadvantaged populations. It provides the potential to include children with an increased risk of health problems within epidemiological studies
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