Socioeconomic status, BMI, and brain development in children

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Low socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood is linked to executive function deficits and altered brain morphology.
• Childhood obesity is more prevalent in low SES populations and associated with cognitive impairments and cortical changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the role of body mass index (BMI) in mediating the relationship between SES and neurodevelopmental outcomes.
• Investigate how BMI influences the association between SES and brain structure (cortical volume) and function (executive function).

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study.
• Employed multiple linear regression models and mediation analyses to assess relationships.
• Examined SES indicators (income, education, area deprivation), BMI, cortical volumes, and executive function performance.

Main Results:

• Lower SES was associated with lower BMI, larger total and prefrontal cortical volumes, and better executive function.
• Mediation analyses revealed BMI significantly mediated the effects of area deprivation on cortical volumes.
• BMI also mediated the association between area deprivation and composite neurocognitive scores, specifically impacting working memory and cognitive flexibility.

Conclusions:

• BMI plays a mediating role in the relationship between low SES and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes.
• Findings highlight the importance of considering BMI in studies examining SES disparities in brain development and cognition.
• Interventions targeting BMI may be crucial for mitigating the neurodevelopmental consequences of low SES in children.