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Birthweight, postnatal growth and cognitive function in a national UK birth cohort
Marcus Richards1, Rebecca Hardy, Diana Kuh
1MRC National Survey of Health and Development, University College London, UK. m.richards@ucl.ac.uk
Insights
Birthweight and postnatal growth independently impact cognitive function and educational achievement. Higher birthweight and height correlate with better cognitive outcomes and higher educational attainment, independent of family background.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Human Growth and Development
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Birthweight is linked to cognitive function and educational attainment, independent of social factors.
- The precise role of birthweight as a reflection of fetal growth versus a marker of subsequent size in this association remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the independent effects of birthweight and postnatal growth (height adjusted for weight) on cognitive function and educational attainment.
- To control for family background variables including sex, socioeconomic status, and parental education.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the British 1946 birth cohort study.
- Examined associations between cognitive function at various ages, birthweight, childhood/adulthood height (adjusted for weight), and educational attainment.
- Controlled for sex, father's social class, maternal education, birth order, and maternal age.
Main Results:
- Birthweight positively correlated with cognition up to age 26 and advanced educational qualifications.
- Height showed a positive association with cognition at all ages and educational attainment.
- Weight was not associated with cognition at ages 8 and 15 but negatively associated with verbal ability at 26, verbal memory at 43, and educational attainment.
- Height growth in early childhood and late adolescence positively impacted cognition.
- Post-15 weight gain negatively associated with cognition at age 26.
Conclusions:
- Both birthweight and postnatal growth are independently associated with cognitive function.
- These findings highlight the enduring impact of early-life factors on long-term cognitive abilities and educational success.
Background:
Birthweight is associated with cognition and educational attainment across the full birthweight range in the normal population, independently of social background. However, the extent to which birthweight reflects fetal growth, or is a marker of subsequent size, with respect to this association, is not clear. We therefore investigated the independent effects of birthweight and postnatal height adjusted for postnatal weight on cognitive function and educational attainment while controlling for family background.
Methods:
Using the British 1946 birth cohort we investigated the association between cognitive function at various ages and birthweight, height adjusted for weight in childhood and adulthood, and educational attainment, controlling for sex, father's social class, maternal education, birth order, and maternal age.
Results:
Birthweight was positively associated with cognition up to age 26, and with the likelihood of obtaining advanced educational qualifications. Height was positively associated with cognition at all ages, and also with educational attainment. Weight was not associated with cognition at ages 8 and 15, but was negatively associated with verbal ability at age 26, with verbal memory at age 43, and with educational attainment. These effects were independent of each other, and of family background. Conditional analyses suggested the positive effect of height growth on cognition at two intervals, one in early childhood, and the other in late adolescence. In addition, weight gain after age 15 was negatively associated with cognition at 26.
Conclusion:
Birthweight and postnatal growth are independently associated with cognition.