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Associations between birth weight, preeclampsia and cognitive functions in middle-aged adults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 October 2011

P. Factor-Litvak ,
N. Straka ,
S. Cherkerzian ,
M. Richards ,
X. Liu ,
A. Sher ,
G. Neils  and
J. Goldstein
P. Factor-Litvak*
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
N. Straka
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
S. Cherkerzian
Affiliation:
Brigham & Women's Hospital Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine, Division of Women's Health, Connors Center for Women's Health & Gender Biology, Boston, MA, USA Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
M. Richards
Affiliation:
Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit for Lifelong Health and Aging, London, UK Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK
X. Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
A. Sher
Affiliation:
ICSD.USA, Millburn NJ, USA
G. Neils
Affiliation:
Sergievsky Center, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
J. Goldstein
Affiliation:
Brigham & Women's Hospital Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine, Division of Women's Health, Connors Center for Women's Health & Gender Biology, Boston, MA, USA Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA Department of Psychiatry, Division of Psychiatric Neuroscience, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr P. Factor-Litvak, Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. (Email prf1@columbia.edu)
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Abstract

Both reductions in birth weight and preeclampsia (PE) have been associated with decrements in scores on tests of intelligence in children and adolescents. We examined whether these decrements persist into middle adulthood and expand into other domains of cognitive functioning. Using data from the Early Determinants of Adult Health project and from the ancillary project, Fetal Antecedents of Major Depression and Cardiovascular Disease, we selected term same-sex sibling sets or singletons from these sets, from the New England Family Study (NEFS) and the Child Health and Development Studies (CHDS), discordant on either fetal growth or PE, to test the hypotheses that prenatal exposure to inflammation was associated with decrements in attention, learning and executive function 40 years later. Exposure was defined as a continuous measure of percentile birth weight for gestational age, reduced fetal growth (<20th percentile of birth weight for gestational age) or maternal PE. Given that the sample was comprised, in part, of sibling sets, the analyses were performed using mixed models to account for the inter-sibling correlations. Analyses were performed separately by study site (i.e. NEFS and CHDS). We found few statistically significant associations (suggesting a possible type II error) consistent with previous literature, suggesting that the associations with low birth weight do not persist into midlife. We discuss the possible reasons for the lack of associations, which include the possible mediating effects of the postnatal environment.

Keywords

fetal programmingneurocognitionfetal growth
Type
Original Articles
Information
Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease , Volume 2 , Special Issue 6: The Early Determinants of Adult Health Study , December 2011 , pp. 365 - 374
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 2011

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