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Birth weight effects on children's mental, motor, and physical development: evidence from twins data

Ashlesha Datar1, Alison Jacknowitz

  • 1RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90407, USA. datar@rand.org

Maternal and Child Health Journal
|March 25, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Very low birth weight (VLBW) and moderately low birth weight (MLBW) significantly impact early childhood growth. However, after accounting for maternal, environmental, and genetic factors, low birth weight has minimal effects on mental and motor development by age two.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Perinatal Medicine
  • Child Psychology

Background:

  • Low birth weight, including very low birth weight (VLBW) and moderately low birth weight (MLBW), is a significant concern for child development.
  • Understanding the long-term effects of birth weight on cognitive, motor, and physical development is crucial for early intervention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the impact of VLBW and MLBW on children's mental, motor, and physical development up to two years of age.
  • To determine if children with VLBW and MLBW achieve developmental catch-up compared to normal birth weight (NBW) children by age two.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) on twins (dizygotic and monozygotic) and singletons.
  • Employed within-twin analyses to control for shared genetic and environmental factors, alongside multivariate regression models.
  • Assessed effects on mental and motor development scores and various growth z-scores at 9 months and 2 years.

Main Results:

  • Initial analysis indicated negative effects of VLBW and MLBW on development and growth.
  • Within-twin analyses revealed minimal impact of birth weight on mental and motor development when controlling for shared factors.
  • Significant negative effects of low birth weight on physical growth persisted, with no evidence of catch-up by age two.

Conclusions:

  • After controlling for maternal, environmental, and genetic influences, low birth weight has a minor effect on early childhood mental and motor development.
  • Low birth weight remains a substantial risk factor for impaired physical growth in the initial years of life.
  • Children born with low birth weight do not demonstrate developmental catch-up in physical growth by the age of two.
Abstract

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