Andrew K Wills

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Verified

Andrew verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

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• PhD
• Professor at University of Agder

Background: Regression models are widely used to link serial measures of anthropometric size or changes in size to a later outcome. Different parameterisations of these models enable one to target different questions about the effect of growth, however, their interpretation can be challenging. Our objective was to formulate and classify several se...

Much of our understanding of the age-related progression of systolic blood pressure (SBP) comes from cross-sectional data, which do not directly capture within-individual change. We estimated life course trajectories of SBP using longitudinal data from seven population-based cohorts and one predominantly white collar occupational cohort, each from...

Background: Maternal vitamin D status in pregnancy is a suggested determinant of bone-mineral content (BMC) in offspring, but has been assessed in small studies. We investigated this association in a large prospective study. Methods: Eligible participants were mother-and-singleton-offspring pairs who had participated in the Avon Longitudinal Stu...

We investigated whether there are subgroups with different underlying (latent) trajectories of midlife systolic blood pressure (BP), diastolic BP, and pulse pressure in a UK cohort. Data are from 1840 men and 1819 women with BP measured at ages 36, 43, and 53 years. We used unconditional growth mixture models to test for the presence of latent traj...

Our aim was to estimate associations of adolescent dietary patterns and meal habits with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and preterm birth. We used data from a prospective cohort study (Norwegian Young-HUNT1) where dietary information was collected during adolescence and pregnancy outcomes were obtained through record linkage to the Norwe...

Background Few effective health interventions transition from smaller efficacy or effectiveness studies to real-world implementation at scale, representing a gap between evidence and practice. Recognising this, we have developed Nutrition Now – a tailored digital resource building on four efficacious dietary interventions, aiming to improve nutriti...

The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) approach supports that nutritional exposures in early life affect an individual’s later health and risk of disease. Dietary exposure during the preconception period may also influence individual, and inter- and transgenerational health and disease risk, in both men and women. This study aimed...

Background Little is known about the prevalence of overweight/obesity and socio-economic position (SEP) in children with immigrant background in Scandinavia. The purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence of overweight/obesity by immigrant background among children in Norway and to explore the role of SEP in explaining differences in weight...

The objective of the study was to assess the concordance and ranking ability of a non-quantitative 33-item dietary screener developed to assess the diet of young adults in Norway, ‘MyFoodMonth 1.1’, compared to a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Data were collected in a cross-sectional dietary survey evaluating the diets of stu...

Disappointingly few efficacious health interventions are successfully scaled up and implemented in real world settings. This represents an evidence-to-practice gap, with loss of opportunity to improve practice. Aiming to improve nutrition in the first 1000 days of life, we have combined four efficacious dietary interventions into a single adapted d...

Objectives: To estimate both the association of surgical variables in complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (cUCLP) in the UK with outcomes at age 5 years, and the association of secondary speech surgery, volume of surgery, and surgeon with the same outcomes. Setting and sample population: The Cleft Care UK study, a cross-sectional study of 2...

Background School free fruit and vegetable (FFV) policies are used to promote healthy dietary habits and tackle obesity; however, our understanding of their effects on weight outcomes is limited. We assess the effect of a nationwide FFV policy on childhood and adolescent weight status and explore heterogeneity by sex and socioeconomic position. Me...

Background Both active and passive cigarette smoking have previously been associated with orofacial cleft aetiology. We aimed to analyse the impact of declining active smoking prevalence and the implementation of smoke-free legislation on the incidence of children born with a cleft lip and/or palate within the United Kingdom. Methods and findings...

Introduction The importance of preconception health for lifelong physical and mental health in the next generation has gained increasing recognition in recent years. Preconception paternal and maternal risk factors such as obesity and inadequate diet affect the metabolic and cardiovascular health of their offspring later in life. This highlights th...

Twenty percent of women referred to colposcopy have a type 3 transformation zone—where colposcopic assessment for high-grade dysplasia (CIN2+) is not possible. This study examines the effectiveness of HPV biomarkers and genotyping in combination with techniques that sample an endocervical TZ. A prospective diagnostic accuracy study. Women booked fo...

Background: Children's first years of life are crucial to their future health. Studies show that a varied diet with a high intake of vegetables is positive in several domains of health. The present low vegetable intake amongst children is, therefore, a concern. Food neophobia is a common barrier to vegetable intake in children. As most Norwegian c...

Objective To estimate the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and thinness among Norwegian 13-year-olds and the changes from childhood (age 8 years) to adolescence (age 13 years); and to explore associations with sex, region, and population density from childhood to adolescence. Design We used longitudinal, anthropometric data collected by school h...

Objectives: To analyse the association between active and passive cigarette smoking and the incidence of children born with a cleft lip and/or palate within the United Kingdom. Design: First, a longitudinal time-series study was conducted with routinely collected smoking prevalence data for females over 16 years of age. Second, an interrupted time-...

In recent years, examining dietary patterns has become a more common way of investigating potential associations between diet and adverse health outcomes. The New Nordic Diet (NND) is a potentially healthy and sustainable dietary pattern characterized by foods that are locally available and traditionally consumed in the Nordic countries. The diet h...

Emerging evidence suggests that parents’ nutritional status before and at the time of conception influences the lifelong physical and mental health of their child. Yet little is known about the relationship between diet in adolescence and the health of the next generation at birth. This study examined data from Norwegian cohorts to assess the relat...

This paper presents a novel multi-step automated algorithm to screen for errors in longitudinal height and weight data and describes the frequency and characteristics of errors in three datasets. It also offers a taxonomy of published cleaning routines from a scoping review. Illustrative data are from three Norwegian retrospective cohorts containin...

The New Nordic Diet (NND) is a potentially healthy and sustainable dietary pattern represented by locally available and traditionally consumed foods in the Northern countries. The diet has been commonly examined in adult populations, but less is known regarding its potential associations with overweight/obesity in children. We have previously devel...

Introduction Despite the high prevalence of musculoskeletal injuries, there is a shortage of data quantifying the risk factors attributable to cumulative occupational demands among UK Military personnel. We developed a new comprehensive questionnaire that examines occupational and operational physical loading during military service. The aim of thi...

The development and test-retesr reliability of the Military Physical Loading Questionnaire.

Objects: To describe the range of surgery used to repair the lip and palate in the UK with specific interest in the sequence/timing used in complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (cUCLP). Setting and sample population: The Cleft Care UK study, a cross-sectional study of 268 5-year-olds, born from 2005-07, with complete unilateral cleft lip and...

Objectives The Norwegian randomized controlled trial Early Food for Future Health provided parental anticipatory guidance on early protective feeding practices from child age 6 to 12 months through an eHealth intervention. Previously published outcomes at child age 12 months indicated that the eHealth intervention increased daily vegetable/fruit in...

Objective To determine whether a relationship exists between the aesthetic scores given to photographic records of the nasolabial region of patients with repaired unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) and the 5-Year Olds’ Index scores of study models for the same participants. Design Retrospective study. Setting University of Bristol Dental Hosp...

Objectives To (1) determine the prevalence of nonperialveolar palatal fistula up to age 5 following repair of unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) in the United Kingdom, (2) examine the association of palatoplasty techniques with fistula occurrence, and (3) describe the frequency of fistula repairs and their success. Design Cross-sectional study...

Background Strategies to optimize early-life nutrition provide an important opportunity for primary prevention of childhood obesity. Interventions that can be efficiently scaled-up to the magnitude needed for sustainable childhood obesity prevention are needed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of an eHealth intervention on pa...

Introduction Twenty percent of colposcopic assessments are inadequate due to a type 3 transformation zone (TZ3). In the absence of colposcopic or histological assessment, subsequent management is guided by the referral screening test. In the UK routine cervical screening is completed by a Cervex‐Brush alone. This study examines the effectiveness of...

The rising prevalence of overweight and obesity is a worldwide public health challenge. Pregnancy and beyond is a potentially important window for future weight gain in women. We investigated associations between maternal adherence to the New Nordic diet (NND) during pregnancy and maternal BMI trajectories from delivery to 8 years post delivery. Da...

Objective: We highlight a major study that investigated the impact of reconfigured cleft care in the United Kingdom some 15 years after centralization. We argue that centralization as an intervention has a major impact on outcomes. Setting: Audit clinics held in Cleft Centers in the United Kingdom. Patients, participants: Five-year-olds born b...

Objective To establish whether children born with an orofacial cleft have a higher risk of dental caries than individuals without cleft.Design A systematic review and meta-analysisMethods The search strategy was based on the key words 'cleft lip palate' and 'oral hygiene caries decay'. Ten databases were searched from their inception to April 2016...

Objectives: To explore centre-level variation in fluoride treatment and oral health outcomes and to examine the association of individual- and area-level risk factors with dental decay in Cleft Care UK (CCUK). Setting: Two hundred and sixty-eight 5-year-old British children with non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP). Materials an...

Objectives: Outline methods used to describe centre-level variation in treatment and outcome in children in the Cleft Care UK (CCUK) study. Report centre-level variation in dento-facial outcomes. Setting and sample population: Two hundred and sixty-eight five-year-old British children with non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP). M...

Objectives: To summarize and discuss centre-level variation across a range of treatment and outcome measures and examine individual and ecological determinants of outcome in children in Cleft Care UK (CCUK). Setting and sample population: Two hundred and sixty-eight 5-year-old British children with non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate (...

Objectives: To explore centre-level variation in otitis media with effusion (OME), hearing loss and treatments in children in Cleft Care UK (CCUK) and to examine the association between OME, hearing loss and developmental outcomes at 5 and 7 years. Setting and sample population: Two hundred and sixty-eight 5-year-old British children with non-sy...

Objectives: The aims of this study were to describe child behavioural and psychosocial outcomes associated with appearance and speech in the Cleft Care UK (CCUK) study. We also wanted to explore centre-level variation in child outcomes and investigate individual predictors of such outcomes. Setting and sample population: Two hundred and sixty-ei...

Objectives: To investigate centre-level variation in speech intervention and outcome and factors associated with a speech disorder in children in Cleft Care UK (CCUK). Setting and sample population: Two hundred and sixty-eight 5-year-old British children with non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate recruited to CCUK. Materials and methods...

Scientific Reports 6 : Article number: 39535 10.1038/srep39535 ; published online 23 December 2016 ; updated on 24 April 2017 The original HTML version of this Article listed an incorrect volume number.

Although microcephaly is a feature of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, it is currently unknown whether low-to-moderate prenatal alcohol exposure affects head circumference. Small magnitude associations reported in observational studies are likely to be misleading due to confounding and misclassification biases. Alternative analytical approaches such as the...

Background: Non-arthritic hip disorders are defined as abnormalities of the articulating surfaces of the acetabulum and femur before the onset of osteoarthritis, including intra-articular structures such as the acetabular labrum and chondral surfaces. Abnormal femoroacetabular morphology is commonly seen in young men who constitute much of the UK...

Background: Studies of the associations between in utero 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH) D] exposure and childhood asthma risk, wheeze and respiratory tract infections are inconsistent and inconclusive. Objectives: To assess the associations between 25(OH) D levels in cord blood or maternal venous blood and risk of offspring's asthma, wheeze and res...

Background The relationship between body mass index (BMI) and dementia is complex and controversial. This study investigates the association of weight change during midlife and later dementia-related mortality. Methods Two BMI measurements (average of 9.0 years apart) were available for 43,721 participants in the Norwegian Counties Study (NCS), wi...

Background There are no studies describing the clinical outcomes of a residential, multidisciplinary team (MDT) rehabilitation intervention for patients with prearthritic hip pain. The aim of this cohort study was to describe the functional and physical outcomes of multidisciplinary residential rehabilitation for UK military personnel with prearthr...

Objective: To determine the incidence and predictors of negative large loop excision of the transformation zone (LLETZ) following the introduction of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) cervical screening. Method: A retrospective cohort study. Two independent cohorts, who attended for a LLETZ procedure, before and after the introduction of HPV cervical s...

Structured Abstract Objectives To compare facial appearance and dento-alveolar relationship outcomes from the CSAG (1998) and CCUK (2013) studies. Setting and sample populationFive-year-olds born with non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate. Those in the original CSAG were treated in a dispersed model of care with low-volume operators. Those...

Structured Abstract Objectives To compare oral health and hearing outcomes from the Clinical Standards Advisory Group (CSAG, 1998) and the Cleft Care UK (CCUK, 2013) studies. Setting and sample populationTwo UK-based cross-sectional studies of 5-year-olds born with non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate undertaken 15years apart. CSAG childre...

Structured Abstract Objectives To describe the perceptual speech outcomes from the Cleft Care UK (CCUK) study and compare them to the 1998 Clinical Standards Advisory Group (CSAG) audit. Setting and sample populationA cross-sectional study of 248 children born with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate, between 1 April 2005 and 31 March 2007 who...

Structured Abstract Objectives We summarize and critique the methodology and outcomes from a substantial study which has investigated the impact of reconfigured cleft care in the United Kingdom (UK) 15years after the UK government started to implement the centralization of cleft care in response to an earlier survey in 1998, the Clinical Standards...

Structured Abstract Objectives To describe the impact of cleft service centralization on parental perceptions of child outcomes and satisfaction with care from the Cleft Care UK (CCUK) study and compare them to the Clinical Standards Advisory Group (CSAG) study that took place 15years earlier. Setting and Sample PopulationA subgroup of respondents...

Structured Abstract Objectives We describe the methodology for a major study investigating the impact of reconfigured cleft care in the United Kingdom (UK) 15years after an initial survey, detailed in the Clinical Standards Advisory Group (CSAG) report in 1998, had informed government recommendations on centralization. Setting and Sample Population...

The association between maternal smoking and preterm birth (PTB) has been known for more than 50 years but the effect of passive smoking is controversial. This retrospective cohort study in Bristol, United Kingdom, examines the effect of environmental tobacco smoke exposure (ETSE) on gestational age at delivery, birth weight, PTB, and being small-f...

It has been questioned if the excess cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality by lower educational level can be fully explained by conventional modifiable CVD risk factors. Our objective was to examine whether repeated measures over time of risk factors (smoking, physical inactivity, blood pressure, total cholesterol and body mass index) explain more...

Background/Objectives There is growing evidence that early development of obesity increases cardiovascular risk later in life, but less is known about whether there are effects of long-term excess body weight on the biological drivers associated with the atherosclerotic pathway, particularly adipokines, inflammatory and endothelial markers. This pa...

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) is an important public health problem in undernourished populations. Objective: We tested whether improving women's dietary micronutrient quality before conception and throughout pregnancy increases birth weight in a high-risk Indian population. Design: The study was a nonblinded, individually randomized controlle...

Background There is growing evidence that early development of obesity influences cardiovascular risk later in life, but less is known about whether there are persistent effects of long-term excess body weight on biological markers associated with atherosclerosis, including adipokines, inflammatory and endothelial markers. Methods Data from 1784 p...

The aim of this study was to validate self-reported diabetes and age at diagnosis among a sample of the British population, using general practitioners (GPs) as the reference standard. Using data from the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD), self-reported diabetes was determined either in response to a direct q...

Background It has been hypothesised that light skin pigmentation has arisen to ensure adequate levels of vitamin D as human populations moved out of Africa and into higher latitudes. Vitamin D, which is primarily obtained through exposure to sunlight (specifically ultraviolet radiation B (UVR-B)), has been inversely associated with several complex...

Fat and lean body mass have important implications for health and physical functioning in older age, and physical activity is purported to be an important modifiable determinant. However, our evidence-based understanding of its role is limited. We examined the associations of physical activity, assessed both by self-report (using data on leisure ti...

Previous studies have reported associations between lower lifetime socioeconomic position (SEP) and higher body mass index in adulthood, but few have examined associations with direct measures of fat and lean mass which are likely to have independent roles in health and physical functioning. We examined associations of SEP across life with dual-ene...

There is growing evidence that early growth influences bone mass in later life but most studies are limited to birth weight and/ or early infant growth and DXA measurements. In a British birth cohort study with prospective measures of lifetime height and weight, we investigated the growth trajectory in relation to bone in males (M) and females (F)...

There is growing evidence that early growth influences bone mass in later life but most studies are limited to birth weight and/or early infant growth and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurements. In a British birth cohort study with prospective measures of lifetime height and weight, we investigated the growth trajectory in relation to...

It has been suggested that maternal vitamin D status in pregnancy influences the risk of asthma and atopy in the offspring. The epidemiological evidence to support these claims is conflicting and may reflect chance findings and differences in how vitamin D was assessed. To examine the association between blood total maternal 25-hydroxy vitamin D (2...

Knee osteoarthritis (kOA) risk is increased by obesity and physical activities (PA) which mechanically stress the joint. We examined the associations of midlife kOA with Body mass index (BMI) and activity exposure across adult life and their interaction. Data are from a UK birth cohort of 2597 participants with a clinical assessment for kOA at age...