title: Behavioral outcomes of picky eating in childhood: a prospective study in the general population.
abstract: Picky eaters in the general population form a heterogeneous group. It is important to differentiate between children with transient picky eating (PE) and persistent PE behavior when adverse outcomes are studied. We analyzed four PE trajectories to determine the associations with child mental health prospectively.
  
  
  
  From a population-based cohort, 3,748 participants were assessed for PE at 1.5, 3, and 6 years of age using maternal reports. Four trajectories were defined: persistent (PE at all ages); remitting (PE before 6 years only); late-onset (PE at 6 years only); and never (no PE at any assessment). Child's problem behaviors were assessed with the Teacher's Report Form at 7 years of age. We examined associations between picky eating trajectories and emotional problems, behavioral problems and pervasive developmental problems using logistic regressions. Analyses were adjusted for child, parental, and socioeconomic confounders. We also adjusted for maternal-reported baseline problem behavior at age 1.5 years; the never picky eating group was used as reference.
  
  
  
  Persisting PE predicted pervasive developmental problems at age 7 years (OR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.10-3.63). The association remained when adjusted for baseline pervasive developmental problems at 1.5 years (OR = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.10-3.51). Persistent PE was not associated with behavioral (OR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.53-1.60) or emotional problems (OR = 1.24, 95% CI: 0.74-2.07). Other PE trajectories were not related to child behavioral or emotional problems.
  
  
  
  Persistent PE may be a symptom or sign of pervasive developmental problems, but is not predictive of other behavioral problems. Remitting PE was not associated with adverse mental health outcomes, which further indicates that it may be part of normal development.
authors.affiliation: The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.|Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cardona Cano
authors.affiliation: Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands.|Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hans W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Hoek
authors.affiliation: Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, The Hague, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Daphne
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: van Hoeken
authors.affiliation: The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lisanne M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: de Barse
authors.affiliation: The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus University Medical Center - Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Vincent W V
authors.initials: VW
authors.lastname: Jaddoe
authors.affiliation: The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.|Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Center - Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frank C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Verhulst
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. h.tiemeier@erasmusmc.nl.|Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Center - Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. h.tiemeier@erasmusmc.nl.|Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. h.tiemeier@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Henning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tiemeier
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D000066553:Problem Behavior; D011446:Prospective Studies
keywords: Picky eating; behavioral problems; emotional problems; pervasive developmental problems