BackgroundSurvey response rates have been declining over the past decade. The more widespread use of the Internet and Web-based technologies among potential health survey participants suggests that Web-based questionnaires may be an alternative to paper questionnaires in future epidemiological studies.ObjectiveTo compare response rates in a population of parents by using 4 different modes of data collection for a questionnaire survey of which 1 involved a nonmonetary incentive.MethodsA random sample of 3148 parents of Danish children aged 2-17 years were invited to participate in the Danish part of the NordChild 2011 survey on their children’s health and welfare. NordChild was conducted in 1984 and 1996 in collaboration with Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden using mailed paper questionnaires only. In 2011, all countries used conventional paper versions only except Denmark where the parents were randomized into 4 groups: (1) 789 received a paper questionnaire only (paper), (2) 786 received the paper questionnaire and a log-in code to the Web-based questionnaire (paper/Web), (3) 787 received a log-in code to the Web-based questionnaire (Web), and (4) 786 received log-in details to the Web-based questionnaire and were given an incentive consisting of a chance to win a tablet computer (Web/tablet). In connection with the first reminder, the nonresponders in the paper, paper/Web, and Web groups were also present with the opportunity to win a tablet computer as a means of motivation. Descriptive analysis was performed using chi-square tests. Odds ratios were used to estimate differences in response rates between the 4 modes.ResultsIn 2011, 1704 of 3148 (54.13%) respondents answered the Danish questionnaire. The highest response rate was with the paper mode (n=443, 56.2%). The other groups had similar response rates: paper/Web (n=422, 53.7%), Web (n=420, 53.4%), and Web/tablet (n=419, 53.3%) modes. Compared to the paper mode, the odds for response rate in the paper/Web decreased by 9% (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.74-1.10) and by 11% (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.73-1.09) in the Web and Web/tablet modes. The total number of responders for NordChild declined from 10,291 of 15,339 (67.09%) in 1984 and 10,667 of 15,254 (69.93%) in 1996 to 7805 of 15,945 (48.95%) in 2011 with similar declines in all 5 Nordic countries.ConclusionsWeb-based questionnaires could replace traditional paper questionnaires with minor effects on response rates and lower costs. The increasing effect on the response rate on participants replying for a nonmonetary incentive could only be estimated within the 2 Web-based questionnaire modes before the first reminder. Alternative platforms to reach higher participation rates in population surveys should reflect the development of electronic devices and the ways in which the population primarily accesses the Internet.

RALP was more effective and more costly. A way to improve the cost effectiveness may be to perform RALP at fewer high volume urology centres and utilise the full potential of each robot.

ObjectiveTo assess the prevalence of psychological difficulties in Danish children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes using both child/adolescent and caregiver reports, and to investigate associations between these symptoms and metabolic control, adherence, and quality of life.Research Design and Method:A total of 786 children and adolescents (8–17 years) recruited through the Danish Registry of Childhood Diabetes completed subscales of the Beck's Youth Inventories (BYI-Y), while 910 caregivers completed the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The participants also completed questionnaires assessing adherence and quality of life. BYI-Y and SDQ responses were compared with results from normative samples.ResultsChildren with diabetes generally reported a lower level of symptoms of depression and anxiety, while older adolescents in most cases were comparable to the normative samples. However, the numbers of patients with elevated scores were similar to normative groups, especially regarding the proportion of participants with ‘Extremely elevated’ scores. Caregivers of children and adolescents with diabetes generally reported the prevalence of elevated scores on the SDQ to exceed the prevalence observed in the norm sample – particularly with regard to older boys. Both BYI-Y and SDQ responses were significantly correlated with HbA1c, adherence, and quality of life.ConclusionsThis study finds Danish children and adolescents with diabetes to report lower or comparable levels of emotional difficulties compared to norms, while caregiver reports are less positive. The results therefore support the value of a multi-informant approach to the assessment of symptoms of psychological difficulty in girls and boys with diabetes.

BackgroundPerinatal stress may programme overweight and obesity. We examined whether maternal pre- and post-natal bereavement was associated with overweight and obesity in young men.MethodsA cohort study was conducted including 119,908 men born from 1976 to 1993 and examined for military service between 2006 and 2011. Among them, 4,813 conscripts were born to mothers bereaved by death of a close relative from 12 months preconception to birth of the child (exposed group). Median body mass index (BMI) and prevalence of overweight and obesity were estimated. Odds ratio of overweight (BMI≥25 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI≥30 kg/m2) were estimated by logistic regression analysis adjusted for maternal educational level.ResultsMedian BMI was similar in the exposed and the unexposed group but the prevalence of overweight (33.3% versus 30.4%, p = 0.02) and obesity (9.8% versus 8.5%, p = 0.06) was higher in the exposed group. Conscripts exposed 6 to 0 months before conception and during pregnancy had a higher risk of overweight (odds ratio 1.15, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03; 1.27 and odds ratio 1.13, 95% CI: 1.03; 1.25, respectively). Conscripts born to mothers who experienced death of the child’s biological father before child birth had a two-fold risk of obesity (odds ratio 2.00, 95% CI: 0.93; 4.31). There was no elevated risk in those who experienced maternal bereavement postnatally.ConclusionMaternal bereavement during the prenatal period was associated with increased risk of overweight or obesity in a group of young male conscripts, and this may possibly be reflected to severe stress exposure early in life. However, not all associations were clear, and further studies are warranted.

BackgroundEarly parental separation may be a stress factor causing a long-term alteration in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis activity possibly impacting on the susceptibility to develop overweight and obesity in offspring. We aimed to examine the body mass index (BMI) and the risk of overweight and obesity in children whose parents lived separately before the child was born.MethodsA follow-up study was conducted using data from the Aarhus Birth Cohort in Denmark and included 2876 children with measurements of height and weight at 9-11-years-of-age, and self-reported information on parental cohabitation status at child birth and at 9-11-years-of-age. Quantile regression was used to estimate the difference in median BMI between children whose parents lived separately (n = 124) or together (n = 2752) before the birth. We used multiple logistic regression to calculate odds ratio (OR) for overweight and obesity, adjusted for gender, parity, breast feeding status, and maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, weight gain during pregnancy, age and educational level at child birth; with and without possible intermediate factors birth weight and maternal smoking during pregnancy. Due to a limited number of obese children, OR for obesity was adjusted for the a priori confounder maternal pre-pregnancy BMI only.ResultsThe difference in median BMI was 0.54 kg/m2 (95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.10; 0.98) between children whose parents lived separately before birth and children whose parents lived together. The risk of overweight and obesity was statistically significantly increased in children whose parents lived separately before the birth of the child; OR 2.29 (95% CI: 1.18; 4.45) and OR 2.81 (95% CI: 1.05; 7.51), respectively. Additional, adjustment for possible intermediate factors did not substantially change the estimates.ConclusionParental separation before child birth was associated with higher BMI, and increased risk of overweight and obesity in 9-11-year-old children; this may suggest a fetal programming effect or unmeasured difference in psychosocial factors between separated and non-separated parents.

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Objective. It remains uncertain whether the increased direct costs of robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) are outweighed by cost savings due to shorter postoperative hospital care and shorter sick leave. This study compared the length of sick leave after RALP with that after radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP). Material and methods. In a cohort study, information on length of sick leave was retrieved for 274 working men undergoing radical prostatectomy (127 RALP and 147 RRP). Data on confounders such as physical workload, average salary, body mass index and disease characteristics were collected from the medical records. Cox regression models were used to compare the treatment groups. Results. The median number of days with sick leave was 11 in the RALP group and 49 in the RRP group. After adjustment for confounders, patients in the RALP group were twice as likely to return to work at any time during follow-up (hazard ratio 02.13, 95% confidence interval 1.62Á2.80). High physical workload, low salary and high tumour grade were more common in the RRP group and associated with longer sick leave. Conclusions. Patients in the RALP group had shorter postoperative hospital stay and less need for paid sick leave than patients in the RRP group. These data indicate that RALP shortens the convalescence. Part of this difference may, however, be attributable to different selection of patients and different a priori expectations among patients and their doctors. A prospective randomized study is advocated, although blinding is unfeasible.

Children born following IVF/ICSI do not have impaired long-term weight or height compared with spontaneously conceived children.