Samantha J Lain

• The University of Sydney

Background Childhood infection might be associated with adverse child development and neurocognitive outcomes, but the results have been inconsistent. Methods Two population-based record-linkage cohorts of all singleton children born at term in New South Wales, Australia, from 2001 to 2014, were set up and followed up to 2019 for developmental out...

Objective. Evaluate the mortality risk of childhood-onset type 1 diabetes compared to the general population. Research Design and Methods. The study population, identified from the Australasian Paediatric Endocrinology Group diabetes register, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age < 16 in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, from 1990 to 2010. The...

IntroductionContemporary care of congenital heart disease (CHD) is largely standardised, however there is heterogeneity in post-surgical outcomes that may be explained by genetic variation. Data linkage between a CHD biobank and routinely collected administrative datasets is a novel method to identify outcomes to explore the impact of genetic varia...

Background: Newborn screening (NBS) has largely eliminated the physical and neurodevelopmental effects of untreated congenital hypothyroidism (CH). Many countries, including Australia, have progressively lowered NBS bloodspot thyroid-stimulating hormone (b-TSH) thresholds. The impact of these changes is still unclear. Objectives: To evaluate the...

Background: Administrative health data has been used extensively to examine congenital heart disease (CHD). However, the accuracy and completeness of these data must be assessed. Objectives: To use data linkage of multiple administrative data sources to examine the validity of identifying CHD cases recorded in hospital discharge data. Methods:...

Background: Paediatric hospital length of stay (LoS) is often used as a benchmark for resource use of hospitalisations. Previous studies have mostly focused on LoS of admissions for specific conditions or medical specialties. We aimed to conduct an evaluation of LoS of all paediatric hospitalisations exploring the frequency and characteristics; an...

Routinely collected data help estimate the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in jurisdictions without active autism surveillance. We created a population-based cohort of 1,211,834 children born in 2002–2015 in New South Wales, Australia using data linkage. Children with ASD were identified in three datasets – disability services, hospita...

The aim of this study was to examine potential synergistic effects between maternal autoimmune disease and early childhood infections and their association with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in offspring. Both exposures have been associated with increased risk of ASD in previous studies, but potential synergistic effects remain underexplored. We c...

Background There has been increasing use of hospital discharge data to identify congenital anomalies, with limited information about the accuracy of these data. Objectives To evaluate the accuracy of hospital discharge data in ascertaining major congenital anomalies in infants. Methods All liveborn infants with major congenital anomalies born bet...

Objectives The potential of harm to infants or their parents from a false positive (FP) newborn screening (NBS) result for congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is often cited as an argument against lowering of screening thresholds for CH. This systematic review (SR) examines the evidence of harm and factors that possibly contribute. Study Design PRISMA...

Untreated severe newborn thyroid deficiency causes neurocognitive impairment; however, the impact of mild thyroid deficiency is not known. This study aimed to examine whether mildly elevated neonatal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels are associated with poor school performance or stimulant prescription for attention deficit hyperactivity dis...

Inflammation is increasingly recognized as a cause or consequence of common problems of humanity including obesity, stress, depression, pollution and disease states such as autoimmunity, asthma, and infection. Maternal immune activation (MIA), triggered by both acute and systemic chronic inflammation, is hypothesized to be one of the mechanisms imp...

Importance Maternal autoimmune disease has been associated with increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring, but few studies have assessed the association with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Objective To examine the association between maternal autoimmune disease and ADHD within a population-based cohort and combi...

Background Autoimmune conditions are associated with adverse pregnancy and offspring outcomes; however, the prevalence in pregnant women is not well understood. Estimates based on administrative data alone may underestimate prevalence. Methods A cross-sectional survey of women attending a tertiary referral hospital for antenatal care in Dec 2018–F...

Background: Autoimmune diseases disproportionately affect women and have been linked to increased risk of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of autoimmune disease among pregnant women and women of reproductive age (WRA), which is not well described. Materials and methods: A population-based st...

Objective Examine the associations of maternal thyroid hormones, maternal dietary information, and newborn T4 levels with cognitive outcomes in mid-childhood. Methods We studied 921 children born 1999–2003 at gestational age ≥ 34 weeks, who were participants in Project Viva, a prospective pre-birth cohort study in Massachusetts. We examined matern...

The purpose of the study was to evaluate school-age developmental and educational outcomes for children with and without a cardiac procedure in the first year of life to improve understanding of longer-term neurodevelopmental outcomes in children who have had a cardiac procedure for congenital heart disease, the most common serious congenital anoma...

Background There has been considerable interest in the possible adverse neurocognitive effects of exposure to general anesthesia and surgery in early childhood. Aims The aim of this data linkage study was to investigate developmental and school performance outcomes of children undergoing procedures requiring general anesthesia in early childhood....

Objectives: Investigate the association between severe neonatal morbidity (SNM) and child development and school performance among term infants. Methods: The study population included term infants without major congenital conditions born between 2000 and 2007 in New South Wales, Australia, with a linked record of developmental assessment at ages...

Background: Male genital anomalies often require surgery in early life to address functional and cosmetic consequences. However, there has been little assessment of developmental outcomes of affected boys. Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study of all boys born in New South Wales, Australia, and undergoing school-entry development...

Background: Although infant and child mortality rates have decreased substantially worldwide over the past two decades, efforts continue in many nations to further these declines. The identification of pertinent perinatal factors that are associated with early childhood mortality would help with these efforts. We investigated the association of tw...

Objective: This study is an economic evaluation of immediate birth compared with expectant management in women with preterm prelabour rupture of the membranes near term (PPROMT). Design: A cost-effectiveness analysis alongside the PPROMT randomised controlled trial. Setting: Obstetric departments in 65 hospitals across 11 countries. Populatio...

( BJOG. 2015;122(11):1446–1455) An increased incidence of adverse outcomes (maternal mortality, miscarriage, thromboembolism, and obstetric hemorrhage) has been reported among pregnant women with prosthetic heart valves. Infants born to these women are also at increased risk of perinatal mortality, preterm birth, small-for-gestational-age, and cong...

Background: Congenital hypothyroidism causes intellectual delay unless identified and effectively treated soon after birth. Newborn screening has almost eliminated intellectual disability associated with congenital hypothyroidism. However, clinical uncertainty remains about infants with thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations less than th...

Objectives: To investigate survival, hospitalization, and acute-care costs of very (28-31 weeks' gestation) and moderate preterm (32-33 weeks' gestation) infants in the first 6 years of life and compare outcomes with the more widely studied extremely preterm infants (24-27 weeks' gestation) and to full term (low risk) infants (39-40 weeks' gestati...

Historically, pregnancies among women with prosthetic heart valves have been associated with an increased incidence of adverse outcomes. Systematic review to assess risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes among women with a prosthetic heart valve(s) over the last 20 years. Electronic literature search of Medline, The Cochrane Library, Cumulative Index t...

Background To investigate whether the adverse infant health outcomes associated with early birth and severe neonatal morbidity (SNM) persist beyond the first year of life and impact on paediatric hospitalisations for children up to 6 years of age.Methods The study population included all singleton live births, >32 weeks gestation in New South Wales...

To examine the association between early discharge from hospital after birth and readmission to hospital for jaundice among term infants, and among infants discharged early, to investigate the perinatal risk factors for readmission for jaundice. Birth data for 781 074 term live-born infants born in New South Wales, Australia from 2001 to 2010 were...

Abstract The health outcomes of children born to women with heart valve prostheses born in New South Wales, Australia, 2000-2011, were examined in a record-linkage population-based study. Eighty-one women delivered 112 infants. One infant was stillborn, two died prior to discharge from hospital. Twenty-seven (24.8%) were readmitted to hospital in t...

Studies examining the relationship between maternal and infant thyroid parameters have shown conflicting results. Record linkage provides an opportunity to examine the association between maternal and infant thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels. Our aim was to demonstrate the feasibility of record linkage of newborn screening (NBS), laboratory...

Objective: To examine the trends in hospital readmissions in the first year of life and identify whether changes in maternal and infant risk factors explain any changes. Design: Population-based study using de-identified linked health data. Participants: All 788 798 live-born infants delivered in New South Wales from 1 January 2001 to 31 Decem...

Advances in surgical technique, prosthetic heart valve design, and anticoagulation have contributed to an overall improvement in morbidity and mortality in women with heart valve prostheses as well as increased feasibility of pregnancy. Previous work investigating the pregnancies of women with prosthetic valves has been directed largely toward unde...

Objective: To identify the maternal and infant risk factors associated with hospital admission in the first year and estimate the associated costs of infant hospitalization. Study design: Data from the Perinatal Data Collection for 599753 liveborn infants born in New South Wales, Australia, 2001-2007 were linked to hospital admission data. Logis...

There is increasing interest in the potential for in utero exposures to affect the risk of asthma. We used population data to explore the associations between perinatal conditions and the risk of hospital admission with asthma between the 2nd and 5th birthday. The study population was 240,511 singleton infants born during 2001-2003. Birth records a...

Administrative or population health datasets (PHDS) are increasingly being used for research related to maternal and infant health. However, the accuracy and completeness of the information in the PHDS is important to ensure validity of the results of this research. To compile and review studies that validate the reporting of conditions and procedu...

The objective of this study was to estimate the weekly prevalence of self-reported recently acquired infections in women at least 20 weeks pregnant. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of pregnant women in a hospital antenatal clinic in Sydney, Australia between August 2008 and April 2009. Women were asked to report whether they had onset of a ne...

The aim was to develop a composite outcome indicator to identify infants with severe adverse outcomes in routinely collected population health datasets, and assess the indicator's association with readmission and infant mortality rates. A comprehensive list of diagnoses and procedures indicative of serious neonatal morbidity was compiled based on l...

Research into the effects of common activities during pregnancy is sparse and often contradictory. To examine whether common activities are an acute trigger of pregnancy complications the prevalence of these activities are necessary to determine sample size estimates. The aim of this study is to ascertain the prevalence of selected activities in an...

In 2004, the Federal Government introduced the baby bonus, a one-off payment upon the birth of a child. To assess the impact of an increase in the number of births on maternity services in New South Wales following the introduction of the baby bonus payment in July 2004. A population-based study, using NSW birth records, of 965 635 deliveries from...

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Abstract Background Linking population health data to pathology data is a new approach for the evaluation of predictive tests that is potentially more efficient, feasible and efficacious than current methods. Studies evaluating the use of first trimester maternal serum levels as predictors of complications in pregnancy have mostly relied on resourc...

An association between endometriosis and reduced risk of pre-eclampsia has recently been reported. Longitudinally-linked electronic hospital records are a valuable resource for investigating such findings in a large, population-based sample. Our aim was to determine whether women with a history of endometriosis were at modified risk for pregnancy h...

Anaesthesia guidelines recommend regional anaesthesia for most caesarean sections due to the risk of failed intubation and aspiration with general anaesthesia. However, general anaesthesia is considered to be safe for the foetus, based on limited evidence, and is still used for caesarean sections. Cohorts of caesarean sections by indication (that i...

To assess the change in birth rates, both overall and in age, parity, socioeconomic and geographical subgroups of the population, after the introduction of the Baby Bonus payment in Australia on 1 July 2004. Population-based study using New South Wales birth records and Australian Bureau of Statistics population estimates for the period 1 January 1...

To determine whether the proportion of babies born large for gestational age (LGA) in New South Wales has increased, and to identify possible reasons for any increase. Population-based study using data obtained from the NSW Midwives Data Collection, a legislated surveillance system of all births in NSW. All 1 273 924 live-born singletons delivered...

Routinely collected datasets are frequently used for population-based research but their accuracy needs to be assured. This study aims to assess the accuracy of hospital discharge data in identifying obstetric haemorrhage diagnoses and procedures, and estimate their population incidence. The medical records of 1200 randomly selected women were revi...

To investigate whether changes in maternal and birth characteristics explain the increase in the use of epidural analgesia during labor. Using data from a statewide surveillance system of all births, the study included 857,667 women who labored at term between 1992 and 2003 in New South Wales, Australia. Annual rates of epidural analgesia use were...

Administrative population health data, such as hospital discharge data, are a potentially valuable resource for determining anaesthesia and analgesia use in childbirth at a population level. However the reliability of general anaesthesia reporting is unknown. This study aimed to determine the accuracy of the reporting of peripartum general anaesthe...

Population health datasets are a valuable resource for studying maternal and obstetric health outcomes. However, their validity has not been thoroughly examined. We compared medical records from a random selection of New South Wales (NSW) women who gave birth in a NSW hospital in 2002 with coded hospital discharge records. We estimated the populati...