Growth in utero and cognitive function in adult life: follow up study of people born between 1920 and 1943

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the relation between fetal growth and cognitive function in adult life. Design: A follow up study of men and women whose birth weights and other measurements of body size had been recorded at birth. Setting: Hertfordshire, Preston, and Sheffield. Subjects: 1576 men and women born in Hertfordshire, Sheffield, or Preston between 1920 and 1943. Main outcome measures: Intelligence quotient as measured by the AH4 test and amount of decline in cognitive function with age as estimated by the difference between score on the Mill Hill vocabulary test and score on the AH4 test. Results: Score on the intelligence test was higher in people who had a large biparietal head diameter at birth, but it was not related to any other measure of body size or proportions. No association was found between decline in cognitive function and any measure of size or proportions at birth. Conclusion: Impaired fetal growth was not associated with poorer cognitive performance in adult life. Adaptations made by the fetus in response to conditions that retard its growth seem to be largely successful in maintaining brain development. Key messages In humans, low birth weight and proportionate smallness at birth have been associated with poorer cognitive function in early childhood, but there have been few studies on whether this association persists into adult life There was no relation between body size or pro- portions at birth and either intelligence or cognitive decline related to age in over 1500 people aged between 48 and 74 years whose birth measurements had been recorded Fetal growth seems to be less important than genetic factors and environmental influences in postnatal life in determining adult cognitive performance Adaptations made by the fetus in response to conditions that retard its growth may be largely successful in maintaining brain development

Prenatal and Postnatal Growth and Cognitive Abilities at 56 Months of Age: A Longitudinal Study of Infants Born at Term

“…ities are in accordance with the majority of previous findings, 18,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32] and extend them in significant ways. Of the previous studies on children born at term, to our knowledge, 3 have focused solely on weight, 30-32 1 solely on head circumference, 18 and none on length or BMI at birth.…”

Birth weight, childhood socioeconomic environment, and cognitive development in the 1958 British birth cohort study

“…However, it is uncertain whether these factors also influence the rate and timing of cognitive decline later in life. For instance, the association between birth weight and cognitive function at 43 years was weak in the 1946 birth cohort despite associations with cognition from ages 8 to 26,2 whereas in a retrospective cohort of men and women in their 50s and 60s, the relation between birth weight and cognitive function was weak and non-significant 11. However, social circumstances in childhood remained important determinants of cognitive function among Finnish adult men, even after allowing for adult social circumstances 26…”

“…1 3 10 11 A study of sibship pairs found an increasing intelligence quotient at age 7 from 1500 to 3999 g birth weight 4. In a Scottish sample, cognitive function at 11 years was related retrospectively to birth weight, and in a Danish cohort of male conscripts aged up to 20, cognitive function increased across the range of birth weights up to 4.5 kg.…”

Birth Characteristics and Risk of Low Intellectual Performance in Early Adulthood: Are the Associations Confounded by Socioeconomic Factors in Adolescence or Familial Effects?

“…35 In pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction, this may lead to a proportionally smaller reduction in head circumference than body weight. 1,36,37 Martyn et al 38 suggested that, in the absence of an association between fetal growth and cognitive function, adaptations (including brain sparing) made by fetal growth-restricted infants seem to be largely successful in maintaining their brain development. However, results from another study suggest that cognitive development may be affected despite this brain-sparing effect.…”