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Accounting for social and environmental drivers of neurodevelopment: lessons from a pilot study in a pediatric
Regan Andringa-Seed1, Laura Calderon Suarez2, Elizabeth Corn1
1Zickler Family Prenatal Pediatrics Institute, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.
Insights
Neurodevelopment in Colombian children is impacted by location and home environment. Rural children showed lower IQ scores, highlighting disparities influenced by maternal education and resources.
Area of Science:
- Child neurodevelopmental research
- Cognitive and psychosocial functioning studies
- Latin American population health
Background:
- Child neurodevelopment is influenced by a complex interplay of social, environmental, and biological factors.
- Limited research exists on these factors within Latin American populations.
- This study focuses on Colombian children aged 5-6 years.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of social and environmental factors on neurodevelopmental outcomes.
- To compare neurodevelopmental outcomes across different geographic locations in Colombia.
- To identify key factors influencing cognitive and psychosocial development in young children.
Main Methods:
- A pilot, cross-sectional study involving 105 typically developing Colombian children.
- Assessment of IQ (Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-WPPSI), executive, and psychosocial functioning.
- Analysis of home environmental factors and comparison of outcomes across urban and rural locations using linear regression.
Main Results:
- Children in a rural town had significantly lower adjusted mean WPPSI IQ scores compared to urban children.
- Maternal education, location, dietary diversity, and home resources explained 46% of the variance in IQ.
- While other functioning domains differed, they remained within age-expected ranges across groups.
Conclusions:
- Significant disparities in cognitive and other outcomes exist among Colombian children, influenced by location, maternal education, and home resources.
- Approximately 50% of neurodevelopmental variability is accounted for by maternal education, dietary diversity, home resources, and location.
- Future research requires well-matched control groups and culturally appropriate assessments to minimize confounding factors.
Background:
Child neurodevelopment is shaped by complex social, environmental, and biological factors. Few studies have characterized these factors in Latin American populations. We aimed to evaluate the impact of social and environmental factors on neurodevelopmental outcomes in 5-6-year-old children from three geographic locations in Colombia.
Methods:
Our pilot, cross-sectional study included 105 typically developing Colombian children from two urban cities and one rural municipality. Measures assessed domains of IQ (Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-WPPSI), executive functioning, psychosocial functioning, and a range of home environmental factors. We compared outcomes across locations and the impact of covariates using linear regression models.
Results:
Including covariates, adjusted mean WPPSI IQ was significantly lower in children living in a rural town (80.41 ± 2.07) compared to either city (96.30 ± 2.76; 91.69 ± 2.90). Maternal education, location, dietary diversity, and home resources explained 46% of the variance in IQ. Outcomes in other domains were significantly different, but functioning was all within age expectations across groups.
Conclusion:
Significant disparities in cognitive and other outcomes exist among typically developing Colombian children, influenced by location, maternal education, and home resources. Future research should ensure well-matched control populations and use culturally appropriate, validated assessments to minimize social, cultural, and environmental confounding.
Impact:
Maternal education, dietary diversity, total home resources, and location account for approximately 50% of the neurodevelopmental variability of children from urban and rural Colombian cohorts. Typically developing children from a rural community in Colombia have a lower Full-Scale IQ than peers from urban cities, even after including multiple covariates. Future research should continue to study the multiple factors that impact neurodevelopment, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Well-matched control populations and the use of culturally appropriate, validated assessments are important to minimize confounding factors in neurodevelopmental outcomes research, as statistical correction is not sufficient to fully account for these differences.
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