Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 3, 2025

A View of Their Own: Capturing the Egocentric View of Infants and Toddlers with Head-Mounted Cameras
Published on: October 5, 2018
Factors associated with head circumference and indices of cognitive development in early childhood
Laura Nicolaou1,2, Tahmeed Ahmed3, Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta4
1Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Background:
While head circumference (HC) has been related to intracranial volume and brain size, its association with cognitive function remains unclear. We sought to understand the relationship among various biological and socioeconomic risk factors, HC and cognitive development.
Methods:
We analysed data across resource-poor settings in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Peru, South Africa and Tanzania from the Etiology, Risk Factors and Interactions of Enteric Infections and Malnutrition and the Consequences for Child Health and Development longitudinal birth cohort study. Participating children were enrolled and followed up between 2009 and 2014. A final sample of 1210 children aged 0-24 months were included in the analyses. The main outcomes were HC for age Z-score and cognitive, gross motor and language scores from Bayley Scales of Infant Development-III tests. Length, weight and HC were measured monthly, and cognitive tests were administered at 6, 15 and 24 months of age. To disentangle the associations between risk factors and HC from linear growth and to distinguish the direct and indirect effects of these risk factors on cognitive function, we conducted mediation analysis using longitudinal models to account for all data measured during follow-up.
Results:
Average HC-for-age Z-score (HCAZ) was -0.54 (95% CI -0.47 to -0.62) near birth and -1.01 (95% CI -0.94 to -1.08) at 24 months. Children with higher enrolment weight (p<0.0001), higher socioeconomic score (p=0.00037) and taller mothers (p=0.00084) had higher HCAZ at all ages, while enteropathogen infection (p=0.013) and more febrile episodes (p=0.013) were associated with lower HCAZ. The associations between HCAZ and enrolment weight-for-age, maternal height, socioeconomic status or pathogen burden were partly mediated through their associations with length-for-age. HCAZ showed no association with cognitive, gross motor or language skills at 6, 15 and 24 months of age.
Conclusions:
The main risk factors associated with HC are similar to those associated with body length, and HC is not related to cognitive function.
More Related Videos
09:24Quantified Assessment of Infant's Gross Motor Abilities Using a Multisensor Wearable
Published on: May 17, 2024
09:01A Method for Investigating Age-related Differences in the Functional Connectivity of Cognitive Control Networks Associated with Dimensional Change Card Sort Performance
Published on: May 7, 2014
Related Concept Videos
Biological Influences on Intelligence
Information Processing Approach
Environmental Influences on Intelligence
Three Developmental Domains
Physical Development
Physical processes, also known as maturation, encompass the biological changes that occur across an individual's life. These changes begin with genetic inheritance and continue through various stages, including growth in height and weight,...
Language and Cognition
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types