Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T17:23:25.227Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Birth weight and cognitive function in early adulthood: the Australian aboriginal birth cohort study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 February 2014

M. S. Pearce Open the ORCID record for M. S. Pearce [Opens in a new window] ,
K. D. Mann ,
G. Singh  and
S. M. Sayers
M. S. Pearce*
Affiliation:
Institute of Health & Society, Newcastle University, UK
K. D. Mann
Affiliation:
Institute of Health & Society, Newcastle University, UK
G. Singh
Affiliation:
Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia
S. M. Sayers
Affiliation:
Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia
*
*Address for correspondence: M. S. Pearce, Institute of Health & Society, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4LP, UK. (Email [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

It has been suggested that in addition to genetic factors, fetal and post-natal growth influence cognition in early adulthood. However, most studies have been in developed populations, so it is unclear if the same findings would be seen in other, less developed, settings, and have used testing tools not applicable to an Australia Aboriginal population. This study investigated the relationships between cognitive function in early adulthood and birth weight and contemporary height. Simple reaction time (SRT), choice reaction time (CRT) and working memory (WM) were assessed using the CogState battery. A significant association was seen between birth weight and SRT in early adulthood, but not with the other two cognitive measures. Urban dwellers had significantly shorter SRT and CRT than their remote counterparts. Contemporary body mass index and maternal age were associated with CRT. Only fetal growth restriction was associated with WM, with greater WM in those with restricted growth. No associations were seen with contemporary height. These results suggest that fetal growth may be more important than the factors influencing post-natal growth in terms of cognition in early adulthood in this population, but that the associations may be inconsistent between cognitive outcomes. Further research is required to identify whether similar associations are seen in other, similar, populations and to assess why differences in cognitive outcome measures are seen.

Keywords

birth cohortbirth weightcognitionIndigenous populations
Type
Original Article
Information
Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease , Volume 5 , Issue 3 , June 2014 , pp. 240 - 247
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press and the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Morgane, PJ, Austin-La France, R, Bronzino, J, et al. Prenatal malnutrition and development of the brain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 1993; 17, 91–128.Google Scholar
2. Boomsma, DI, van Beijsterveldt, CEM, Rietveld, MJH, Bartels, M, van Baal, GC. Genetics mediate relation of birth weight to childhood IQ. Br Med J. 2001; 323, 1426–1427.Google Scholar
3. Drillien, CM. The incidence of mental and physical handicaps in school age children of very low birth weight. II. Pediatrics. 1967; 39, 238–247.Google Scholar
4. Hutton, JL, Pharaoh, POD, Cooke, RWI, Stevenson, RC. Differential effects of pre-term birth and small gestational age on cognitive and motor development. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 1997; 76, F75–F81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5. Richards, M, Hardy, R, Kuh, D, Wadsworth, ME. Birth weight and cognitive function in the British 1946 birth cohort: longitudinal population based study. Br Med J. 2001; 322, 199–203.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6. Orchinik, LJ, Taylor, HG, Espy, KA, et al. Cognitive outcomes for extremely preterm/extremely low birth weight children in kindergarten. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2011; 17, 1067–1079.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7. Richards, M, Hardy, R, Kuh, D, Wadsworth, ME. Birthweight, postnatal growth and cognitive function in a national UK birth cohort. Int J Epidemiol. 2002; 31, 342–348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8. Løhaugen, GC, Gramstad, A, Evensen, KA, et al. Cognitive profile in young adults born preterm at very low birthweight. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2010; 52, 1133–1138.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9. Strang-Karlsson, S, Andersson, S, Paile-Hyvärinen, M, et al. Slower reaction times and impaired learning in young adults with birth weight <1500 g. Pediatrics. 2010; 125, e74–e82.Google Scholar
10. Pyhälä, R, Lahti, J, Heinonen, K, et al. Neurocognitive abilities in young adults with very low birth weight. Neurology. 2011; 77, 2052–2060.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11. Shenkin, SD, Starr, JM, Deary, IJ. Birth weight and cognitive ability in childhood: a systematic review. Psychol Bull. 2004; 130, 989–1030.Google Scholar
12. Räikkönen, K, Forsén, T, Henriksson, M, et al. Growth trajectories and intellectual abilities in young adulthood: the Helsinki Birth Cohort study. Am J Epidemiol. 2009; 170, 447–455.Google Scholar
13. Broekman, BF, Chan, YH, Chong, YS, et al. The influence of birth size on intelligence in healthy children. Pediatrics. 2009; 123, e1011–e1016.Google Scholar
14. Eriksen, W, Sundet, JM, Tambs, K. Birth weight standardized to gestational age and intelligence in young adulthood: a register-based birth cohort study of male siblings. Am J Epidemiol. 2010; 172, 530–536.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15. Erickson, K, Kritz-Silverstein, D, Wingard, DL, Barrett-Connor, E. Birth weight and cognitive performance in older women: the Rancho Bernardo study. Arch Womens Ment Health. 2010; 13, 141–146.Google Scholar
16. Shenkin, SD, Starr, JM, Pattie, A, et al. Birth weight and cognitive function at age 11 years: The Scottish Mental Survey 1932. Arch Dis Child. 2001; 85, 189–197.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17. Pearce, MS, Deary, IJ, Young, AH, Parker, L. Growth in early life and childhood IQ at age 11 years: the Newcastle Thousand Families Study. Int J Epidemiol. 2005; 34, 673–677.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18. Costa, AJ, Kale, PL, Luiz, RR, et al. Association between birthweight and cognitive function in middle age: the atherosclerosis risk in communities study. Ann Epidemiol. 2011; 21, 851–856.Google Scholar
19. Tuvemo, T, Jonsson, B, Persson, I. Intellectual and physical performance and morbidity in relation to height in a cohort of 18-year-old Swedish conscripts. Horm Res. 1999; 52, 186–191.Google Scholar
20. Starr, JM, Kilgour, A, Pattie, A, et al. Height and intelligence in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921: a longitudinal study. Age Ageing. 2010; 39, 272–275.Google Scholar
21. Laitala, VS, Hjelmborg, J, Koskenvuo, M, et al. Shorter adult stature increases the impact of risk factors for cognitive impairment: a comparison of two Nordic twin cohorts. Twin Res Hum Genet. 2011; 14, 544–552.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22. Daniels, MC, Adair, LS. Growth in young Filipino children predicts schooling trajectories through high school. J Nutr. 2004; 134, 1439–1446.Google Scholar
23. Smith, E, Hay, P, Campbell, L, Trollor, JN. A review of the association between obesity and cognitive function across the lifespan: implications for novel approaches to prevention and treatment. Obesity Rev. 2011; 12, 740–755.Google Scholar
24. Liu, J, Raine, A, Venables, PH, Dalais, C, Mednick, SA. Malnutrition at age 3 years and lower cognitive ability at age 11 years: independence from psychosocial adversity. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2003; 157, 593–600.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25. Australian Bureau of Statistics and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. The Health and Welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. ABS cat. no. 4704.0, AIHW cat. no. IHW 11, 2003. ABS: Canberra.Google Scholar
26. Sayers, SM, Mackerras, D, Singh, G, et al. An Australian aboriginal birth cohort: a unique resource for a life course study of an Indigenous population. A study protocol. BMC Int Health Hum Rights. 2003; 3, 1.Google Scholar
27. Dubowitz, LMS, Dubowitz, V, Goldberg, CA. Clinical Manual: Gestational Age of the Newborn, 1977. Addison-Wesley: London.Google Scholar
28. Sayers, SM, Powers, JR. An evaluation of three methods used to assess gestational age of Aboriginal neonates. J Paediatr Child Health. 1992; 28, 312–317.Google Scholar
29. Sayers, S, Mackerras, D, Halpin, S, Singh, G. Growth outcomes for Australian Aboriginal children aged 11 years who were born with intrauterine growth retardation at term gestation. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2007; 21, 411–417.Google Scholar
30. Kuczmarski, RJ, Ogden, CL, Grummer-Strawn, LM, et al. CDC growth charts: United States. Advance Data. 2000; 314, 1–27.Google Scholar
31. Cairney, S, Maruff, P. Computerised tests of brain function for use with Indigenous people. In Information Technology and Indigenous People (eds. Dyson LE, Hendriks M, Grant S), 2007; pp. 257–259. Information Science Publishing: London.Google Scholar
32. Dingwall, KM, Lewis, MS, Maruff, P, Cairney, S. Assessing cognition following petrol sniffing for Indigenous Australians. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2010; 44, 631–639.Google Scholar
33. Keller, H, Ayub, BV, Saigal, S, Bar-Or, O. Neuromotor ability in 5- to 7-year-old children with very low or extremely low birthweight. Dev Med Child Neurol. 1998; 40, 661–666.Google Scholar
34. Somerfelt, K, Andersson, HW, Sonnander, K, et al. Cognitive development of term small for gestational age children at five years of age. Arch Dis Child. 2000; 83, 25–30.Google Scholar
35. Jefferis, BJ, Power, C, Hertzman, C. Birth weight, childhood socioeconomic environment, and cognitive development in the 1958 British birth cohort study. Br Med J. 2002; 325, 305–310.Google Scholar
36. Gorman, BK. Birth weight and cognitive development in adolescence: causal relationship or social selection? Soc Biol. 2002; 49, 13–34.Google Scholar
37. Oddy, WH, Kendall, GE, Blair, E, et al. Breast feeding and cognitive development in childhood: a prospective birth cohort study. Paediatr Perinatal Epidemiol. 2003; 17, 81–90.Google Scholar
38. National Health and Medical Research Council. Nutrition in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. An Information Paper, 2000. Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra.Google Scholar
39. Canadian Paediatric Society. Growth assessment in Aboriginal children: is there need for change? Paediatr Child Health. 2004; 9, 477–479.Google Scholar