Cognitive Impairment as a Mediator in the Developmental Pathway From Infant Malnutrition to Adolescent Depressive Symptoms in Barbadian Youth

Waber, Deborah P.; Eaglesfield, David; Fitzmaurice, Garrett M.; Bryce, Cyralene P.; Harrison, R. A.; Galler, Janina R.

doi:10.1097/dbp.0b013e31820b7707

Cited by 32 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Importantly, as we reported previously (Salt et al., 1988; Waber et al, 2011)—and confirmed in the present study—maternal depressive symptoms in childhood and adolescence are increased in mothers of postnatally malnourished children from the Barbados Nutrition Study and are associated with poor school performance and poor attendance by their children. Maternal depression may also have antedated the malnutrition episode, and reduced the duration of breastfeeding, contributing to the original episode of malnutrition in the first year of life (Galler et al, 1998; Wachs, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Maternal Depressive Symptoms in Childhood and Openness to Experience in Adulthood

Galler

Bryce

Waber

et al. 2013

Imagination, Cognition and Personality

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We examined the role of maternal depressive symptoms reported during childhood as a predictor of an important personality trait, Openness to Experience (O), in middle adulthood. Participants were 95 adults (38 previously malnourished, 57 control, mean age 42.1 years) who had been followed longitudinally since childhood by the Barbados Nutrition Study. Maternal depressive symptoms had been measured when the participants were 5–11 years of age by the General Adjustment and Morale Scale; O was measured in adulthood by the Revised NEO-Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R). Multiple regression analyses, adjusted for childhood household standard of living, showed a significant main effect on O of maternal depressive symptoms (p < 0.01). Maternal depression also attenuated the significant effect of childhood malnutrition by 14%. Maternal depressive symptoms in childhood may therefore play a causal role in adult personality, in particular Openness to Experience, with implications for creativity.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Maternal Depressive Symptoms in Childhood and Openness to Experience in Adulthood

Galler

Bryce

Waber

et al. 2013

Imagination, Cognition and Personality

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“…The BNS did not obtain data on maternal-infant interactions, but it did assess maternal depression during childhood and adolescence. Although maternal depression was associated with childhood cognitive and behavioral outcomes, its effect was independent of the malnutrition and thus did not mediate the malnutrition effect (Waber, et al, 2011). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They exhibited lower IQ, more attention problems, and poorer school achievement than the control group when assessed longitudinally on multiple occasions (Galler, Ramsey, Forde, Salt, & Archer, 1987; Galler, Ramsey, & Solimano, 1984; Galler, Ramsey, Solimano, & Lowell, 1983; Galler, et al, 1983). Their performance on the Common Entrance Examination, a standard academic competency test administered to all Barbadian children at 11 years of age, was also poorer, referable largely to their impaired IQ and attention as measured throughout the primary grades (Galler, Ramsey, Morley, Archer, & Salt, 1990; Waber, et al, 2011). …”

Section: Neuropsychological Outcomes At Mid-life Following Moderate Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuropsychological outcomes at midlife following moderate to severe malnutrition in infancy.

et al. 2014

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Objective To compare neuropsychological profiles of adults who had experienced an episode of moderate to severe protein-energy malnutrition confined to the first year of life with that of a healthy community comparison group. Method We assessed neuropsychological functioning in a cohort of Barbadian adults, all of whom had birth weight >2500g. The previously malnourished group (N=77, Mean age = 38 years, 53% male) had been hospitalized during the first year of life for moderate to severe protein energy malnutrition and subsequently enrolled in a program providing nutrition education, home visits, and subsidized foods to 12 years of age. They also had documented, adequate nutrition throughout childhood and complete catch-up in growth by the end of adolescence. The healthy comparison group (N=59, Mean age = 38 years, 54% male) were recruited as children from the same classrooms and neighborhoods. Results Adjusted for effects of standard of living during childhood and adolescence and current intellectual ability level, there were nutrition group differences on measures of cognitive flexibility and concept formation, as well as initiation, verbal fluency, working memory, processing speed, and visuospatial integration. Behavioral and cognitive regulation were not affected. Conclusions Postnatal malnutrition confined to the first year of life is associated with neurocognitive compromise persisting into mid-life. Early malnutrition may have a specific neuropsychological signature, affecting response initiation to a somewhat greater extent than response inhibition.

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“…We have recently reported an increase in affective problems and depressive symptoms in the adolescent age group. 16,17 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infant malnutrition predicts conduct problems in adolescents

Galler

Bryce

Waber

et al. 2012

Nutritional Neuroscience

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Objectives The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of conduct problems in a well-documented sample of Barbadian adolescents malnourished as infants and a demographic comparison group and to determine the extent to which cognitive impairment and environmental factors account for this association. Methods Behavioral symptoms were assessed using a 76-item self-report scale in 56 Barbadian youth (11–17 years of age) with histories of protein–energy malnutrition (PEM) limited to the first year of life and 60 healthy classmates. Group comparisons were carried out by longitudinal and cross-sectional multiple regression analyses at 3 time points in childhood and adolescence. Results Self-reported conduct problems were more prevalent among previously malnourished youth (P < 0.01). Childhood IQ and home environmental circumstances partially mediated the association with malnutrition. Teacher-reported classroom behaviors at earlier ages were significantly correlated with youth conduct problems, confirming the continuity of conduct problems through childhood and adolescence. Discussion Self-reported conduct problems are elevated in children and adolescents with histories of early childhood malnutrition. Later vulnerability to increased conduct problems appears to be mediated by the more proximal neurobehavioral effects of the malnutrition on cognitive function and by adverse conditions in the early home environment.

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Cognitive Impairment as a Mediator in the Developmental Pathway From Infant Malnutrition to Adolescent Depressive Symptoms in Barbadian Youth

Cited by 32 publications

References 31 publications

Maternal Depressive Symptoms in Childhood and Openness to Experience in Adulthood

Maternal Depressive Symptoms in Childhood and Openness to Experience in Adulthood

Neuropsychological outcomes at midlife following moderate to severe malnutrition in infancy.

Infant malnutrition predicts conduct problems in adolescents

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