New Zealand Statistical Association 2024 Conference

Siwei Zhai

University of Auckland, and Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau

Childhood risk and resilience factors for Pasifika youth respiratory health: Accounting for attrition and missingness

This is joint work with Alain C. Vandal, Catherine A. Byrnes, El-Shadan Tautolo

In New Zealand, 7% of deaths are related to respiratory diseases, with Pacific people at higher risk. Our work investigates the causal effects of early-life risks and resilience factors on early-adulthood lung function amongst Pacific Islands Families Study (PIFS) cohort members (n=1,398); 466 from the cohort participated in the respiratory study. Primary outcome was forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) z-score at age 18 years. FEV1 and healthy lung function (HLF), defined as the z-score being larger than -1.64, were secondary outcomes. A previous study had evaluated the effects of early-life nutrition factors on the respiratory health of Pacific youth. The results suggested a positive impact of consuming more fruit and vegetables during childhood on respiratory health later in life. The follow-up study will continue to explore the effects of factors from relevant domains based on the PIFS cohort, where a new integrated model will be applied. A simulation will be conducted to determine this model.