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Longitudinal association between early life socio-environmental factors and attention function at the age 11 years

Joan Forns1, Maties Torrent, Raquel Garcia-Esteban

  • 1Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL), Barcelona, Spain. jforns@creal.cat

Environmental Research
|May 22, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Early life socio-environmental factors significantly impact children's attention development. Factors like parental education and maternal mental health influence attention, with breastfeeding offering protection against certain errors.

Area of Science:

  • Neuropsychological Development
  • Environmental Health
  • Child Psychology

Background:

  • The developing brain is highly susceptible to prenatal and early-life exposures.
  • Understanding how early socio-environmental factors influence specific cognitive functions like attention is crucial.
  • Research has yet to fully elucidate these early childhood influences on later attention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify social and environmental exposures in early childhood associated with attention function in pre-adolescence.
  • To investigate the relationship between early life factors and attention deficits in 11-year-old children.
  • To analyze specific cognitive processes, including inattention and impulsivity, in relation to early exposures.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the Menorca birth cohort (INMA-project, Spain) involving 393 children.
  • Assessed attention function using the Continuous Performance Test-II (CPT-II) at age 11.
  • Collected socio-environmental data from birth up to age 4, including parental demographics, maternal health, breastfeeding, and environmental pollutant levels (DDE, PCBs).

Main Results:

  • Parental social class, education, and maternal mental health correlated with inattentive and impulsive symptoms (omission and commission errors).
  • Atopy was linked to higher omission errors, while folic acid/vitamin supplementation during pregnancy was associated with fewer omission errors.
  • Breastfeeding showed a protective effect against commission errors; higher DDE/PCB levels correlated with slower response speed.

Conclusions:

  • Prenatal and early childhood socio-environmental factors, including socio-demographics, breastfeeding, maternal nutrition, and organochlorine exposure, significantly influence pre-adolescent attention and hyperactivity/impulsivity.
  • These findings highlight critical windows for intervention to support healthy neurodevelopment.
  • Early life environment plays a vital role in shaping cognitive functions essential for academic and social success.

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