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Sex-Specific Associations Between Early-Life Unpredictability and Trajectories of Body Mass Index From Infancy to
Insights
Early life exposure to unpredictable maternal sensory signals is linked to higher body mass index (BMI) trajectories in females, but not males. This research highlights how early life unpredictability impacts female child weight status.
Area of Science:
- Developmental psychology
- Pediatric health
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Early life adversity, specifically unpredictability, is an understudied factor influencing child development.
- Parental sensory signal predictability during sensitive developmental windows shapes the brain.
- Sex-specific links exist between unpredictable early life sensory signals and aberrant offspring development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the sex-specific association between unpredictable maternal sensory signals in infancy and child body mass index (BMI) trajectories.
- To explore the impact of early life sensory signal predictability on physical health outcomes like BMI.
- To understand potential pathways through which early life experiences influence long-term weight status.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study of 190 mother/child dyads.
- Quantified maternal sensory signal unpredictability (visual, auditory, tactile transitions) at 6 and 12 months.
- Longitudinal measurement of child BMI seven times from infancy through adolescence.
- General linear mixed models used to assess the relationship between unpredictability and BMI trajectories.
Main Results:
- Greater unpredictability of maternal sensory signals in infancy was associated with higher BMI over time in females (P =.047).
- No significant association was found between maternal sensory signal unpredictability and BMI trajectories in males (P =.450).
- The findings indicate a sex-specific effect of early life sensory environment on child weight status.
Conclusions:
- Early life unpredictability in maternal sensory signals may be a critical factor influencing later child weight status, particularly among females.
- This research suggests a potential biobehavioral pathway linking early life experiences to adolescent BMI in girls.
- Further research is warranted to explore the mechanisms underlying these sex-specific effects.
Objective:
Unpredictability in early life is an understudied aspect of early life adversity that provides important signals to the child about their environment. Recent work shows the predictability of patterns of parental signals on a moment-to-moment timescale sculpts the developing brain during sensitive windows, offering a potential pathway through which early life experiences shape child development. Both experimental non-human animal models and observational human research show sex-specific links between early life exposure to unpredictable patterns of parental sensory signals and aberrant offspring development. The impact of predictability of sensory signals on physical health outcomes, such as BMI, remains unknown. Here, we examined the sex-specific association between unpredictable maternal sensory signals during infancy and child BMI trajectories from infancy through adolescence.
Methods:
In a prospective cohort ( N =190 mother/child dyads), we quantified the unpredictability of maternal sensory signals (unpredictability of transitions between visual, auditory, and tactile signals mothers provide their infant) from free-play interactions at 6 and 12 month of age. Child BMI was measured longitudinally 7 times from infancy through adolescence. General linear mixed models assessed relations of unpredictability with BMI trajectories.
Results:
Greater unpredictability of maternal sensory signals in infancy was associated with higher BMI over time for females (b=0.07, SE=0.03, P =.047 for overall trajectory difference), but not males (b=-0.03, SE=0.04, P =.450 for overall trajectory difference).
Conclusions:
Findings suggest early life unpredictability may be an important signal shaping biobehavioral pathways to later child weight status among females.
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