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General cognitive but not mathematic abilities predict very preterm and healthy term born adults' wealth
Julia Jaekel1,2, Nicole Baumann2, Peter Bartmann3
1Department of Child and Family Studies, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America.
Insights
Very preterm/very low birth weight survivors face reduced adult wealth due to general cognitive deficits, not specific math problems. Early cognitive support is key for improving life outcomes for high-risk infants.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Public Health
Background:
- Very preterm (VP) and/or very low birth weight (VLBW) individuals often experience cognitive and mathematical challenges.
- The impact of these specific difficulties on long-term life-course consequences, beyond general cognitive deficits, remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if childhood mathematical abilities mediate the association between VP/VLBW status and adult wealth.
- To determine if general cognitive abilities, rather than math skills, explain the reduced adult wealth in VP/VLBW individuals.
Main Methods:
- Prospective longitudinal study of 193 VP/VLBW children and 217 healthy term-born controls from birth to age 26.
- Assessment of mathematical and general cognitive abilities at age 8 using standardized tests.
- Evaluation of adult wealth at age 26 via a structured interview and comprehensive index score.
Main Results:
- VP/VLBW children exhibited lower mathematical and general cognitive abilities at age 8 compared to controls.
- Adults born VP/VLBW accumulated significantly less wealth (-0.57) than term-born peers (-0.01).
- Childhood general cognitive ability (IQ) directly predicted adult wealth, while specific math skills did not (p > .05).
Conclusions:
- General cognitive deficits, not specific mathematical difficulties, are primarily responsible for the reduced life-course success in VP/VLBW survivors.
- Findings underscore the importance of early interventions targeting general cognitive development in high-risk infants to mitigate long-term socioeconomic disadvantages.
Objective:
Very preterm (<32 weeks gestation; VP) and/or very low birth weight (<1500g; VLBW) children often have cognitive and mathematic difficulties. It is unknown whether VP/VLBW children's frequent mathematic problems significantly add to the burden of negative life-course consequences over and above effects of more general cognitive deficits. Our aim was to determine whether negative consequences of VP/VLBW versus healthy term birth on adult wealth are mediated by mathematic abilities in childhood, or rather explained by more general cognitive abilities.
Methods:
193 VP/VLBW and 217 healthy term comparison participants were studied prospectively from birth to adulthood as part of a geographically defined study in Bavaria (South Germany). Mathematic and general cognitive abilities were assessed at 8 years with standardized tests; wealth information was assessed at 26 years with a structured interview and summarized into a comprehensive index score. All scores were z-standardized.
Results:
At 8 years, VP/VLBW (n = 193, 52.3% male) had lower mathematic and general cognitive abilities than healthy term comparison children (n = 217, 47.0% male). At 26 years, VP/VLBW had accumulated significantly lower overall wealth than term born comparison adults (-0.57 (1.08) versus -0.01 (1.00), mean difference 0.56 [0.36-0.77], p < .001). Structural equation modeling confirmed that VP/VLBW birth (β = -.13, p = .022) and childhood IQ (β = .24, p < .001) both directly predicted adult wealth, but math did not (β = .05, p = .413). Analyses were controlled for small-for-gestational-age (SGA) birth, child sex, and family socioeconomic status.
Conclusion:
This longitudinal study from birth to adulthood shows that VP/VLBW survivors' general cognitive rather than specific mathematic problems explain their diminished life-course success. These findings are important in order to design effective interventions at school age that reduce the burden of prematurity for those individuals who were born at highest neonatal risk.