19
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: not found

      Birth weight and cognitive function in the British 1946 birth cohort: longitudinal population based study.

      BMJ : British Medical Journal
      Adolescent, Adult, Birth Weight, Child, Cognition, Educational Status, Female, Humans, Infant, Low Birth Weight, Infant, Newborn, Logistic Models, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Memory, Psychometrics

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPMC
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          To examine the association between birth weight and cognitive function in the normal population. A longitudinal, population based, birth cohort study. 3900 males and females born in 1946. Cognitive function from childhood to middle life (measured at ages 8, 11, 15, 26, and 43 years). Birth weight was significantly and positively associated with cognitive ability at age 8 (with an estimated standard deviation score of 0.44 (95% confidence interval 0.28 to 0.59)) between the lowest and highest birthweight categories after sex, father's social class, mother's education, and birth order were controlled for. This association was evident across the normal birthweight range (>2.5 kg) and so was not accounted for exclusively by low birth weight. The association was also observed at ages 11, 15, and 26, and weakly at age 43, although these associations were dependent on the association at age 8. Birth weight was also associated with education, with those of higher birth weight more likely to have achieved higher qualifications, and this effect was accounted for partly by cognitive function at age 8. Birth weight was associated with cognitive ability at age 8 in the general population, and in the normal birthweight range. The effect at this age largely explains associations between birth weight and cognitive function at subsequent ages. Similarly, the association between birth weight and education was accounted for partly by earlier cognitive scores.

          Related collections

          Author and article information

          Journal
          11159613
          26584
          10.1136/bmj.322.7280.199

          Chemistry
          Adolescent,Adult,Birth Weight,Child,Cognition,Educational Status,Female,Humans,Infant, Low Birth Weight,Infant, Newborn,Logistic Models,Longitudinal Studies,Male,Memory,Psychometrics

          Comments

          Comment on this article