Shared unmeasured characteristics among siblings confound the association of Apgar score with stress resilience in adolescence

Review of the Reliability and Validity of the Apgar Score

BACKGROUND

The Apgar score is the most common score used to quantify neonatal status after birth. It is routinely used in clinical practice and research. However, since its introduction there have been significant changes in peripartum and neonatal management, our understanding of neonatal physiology, and changes in data analysis capabilities.

PURPOSE

To assess the Apgar score's reliability and validity in the context of today's clinical and research environments.

METHOD

PubMed was searched using the term "Apgar." Just over 22,000 titles were identified. Full-text articles were obtained if they addressed the Apgar score's use, reliability, and validity, or if the score was a primary outcome measure. This was followed by a hand search using the same criteria. The 505 identified articles build the basis for this discussion of the Apgar score's reliability and validity.

FINDINGS

Multiple positive and negative aspects of the Apgar score's reliability and validity were identified. Some facets needed to evaluate reliability and validity do not seem to have been addressed in the literature. Overall, the identified concerns can introduce bias into outcomes obtained via the use of the Apgar score in both clinical practice and research.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

The Apgar score is no longer used to determine neonatal management in the delivery room.

IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH

The use of the Apgar score in research may introduce bias into outcomes. As discussed in the Video Abstract, researchers need to address and improve the score's weaknesses or consider developing a new tool better suited to today's research needs.

VIDEO ABSTRACT AVAILABLE AT

https://journals.lww.com/advancesinneonatalcare/Pages/videogallery.aspx?autoPlay=false&videoId=45.

Associations of parental and perinatal factors with subsequent risk of stress-related disorders: a nationwide cohort study with sibling comparison

Little is known about the contribution of pregnancy-related parental and perinatal factors to the development of stress-related disorders. We aimed to investigate whether parental/perinatal adversities entail higher risks of stress-related disorders in the offspring, later in life, by accounting for genetic and early environmental factors. Based on the nationwide Swedish registers, we conducted a population-based cohort study of 3,435,747 singleton births (of which 2,554,235 were full siblings), born 1973-2008 and survived through the age of 5 years. Using both population- and sibling designs, we employed Cox regression to assess the association between parental and perinatal factors with subsequent risk of stress-related disorders. We identified 55,511 individuals diagnosed with stress-related disorders in the population analysis and 37,433 in the sibling analysis. In the population-based analysis we observed increased risks of stress-related disorders among offspring of maternal/paternal age <25, single mothers, parity ≥4, mothers with BMI ≥ 25 or maternal smoking in early pregnancy, gestational diabetes, and offspring born moderately preterm (GA 32-36 weeks), or small-for-gestational-age. These associations were significantly attenuated toward null in the sibling analysis. Cesarean-section was weakly associated with offspring stress-related disorders in population [hazard ratio (HR) 1.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06-1.12] and sibling analyses (HR 1.10, 95% CI 1.02-1.20). Our findings suggest that most of the observed associations between parental and perinatal factors and risk of stress-related disorders in the population analysis are driven by shared familial environment or genetics, and underscore the importance of family designs in epidemiological studies on the etiology of psychiatric disorders.

Higher body mass index at ages 16 to 20 years is associated with increased risk of a multiple sclerosis diagnosis in subsequent adulthood among men

Background:

Evidence for the association between body mass index (BMI) and multiple sclerosis (MS) among men remains mixed.

Objective and methods:

Swedish military conscription and other registers identified MS after age of 20 years and BMI at ages 16–20 years ( N = 744,548).

Results:

Each unit (kg/m2) BMI increase was associated with greater MS risk (hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval = 1.034, 1.016–1.053), independent of physical fitness (1.021, 1.001–1.042). Categorised, overweight and obesity were associated with statistically significant raised MS risk compared to normal weight, but not after adjustment for physical fitness.

Conclusion:

MS risk rises with increasing BMI, across the entire BMI range.