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Gestational Age, Newborn Metabolic Markers and Academic Achievement

George L Wehby1,2,3,4,5

  • 1Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
|February 15, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Newborn metabolic markers significantly impact school test scores, explaining a substantial portion of differences related to gestational age. These early metabolic differences are key indicators of a child's long-term development.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Metabolic Health
  • Educational Psychology

Background:

  • Gestational age is linked to academic achievement and newborn metabolic profiles.
  • The relationship between metabolic markers and gestational age-related achievement differences remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between newborn metabolic markers and differences in school test performance based on gestational age.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective cohort study linking birth records, newborn screening, and school test data (2002-2018).
  • Analysis included up to 229,679 children and 973,247 child-grade observations.
  • Regression models assessed associations between gestational age, 37 metabolic markers, and test scores (math, reading, science).

Main Results:

  • Each additional gestational week correlated with higher scores in math, reading, and science.
  • Preterm and very preterm children exhibited significantly lower scores compared to full-term peers.
  • Metabolic markers accounted for 27-45% of gestational age-related score differences and over half of the score gap between preterm and full-term children.

Conclusions:

  • Newborn metabolic markers are strongly associated with gestational age differences in academic performance.
  • Early metabolic variations are crucial indicators for predicting long-term child development outcomes.
Abstract

Keywords:
gestational agemetabolic healthnewborn screeningschool health

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