Basatemur, E. and Gardiner, Julian and Williams, C. and Melhuish, Edward C. and Barnes, Jacqueline and Sutcliffe, A. (2013) Relationship between maternal body mass index and child cognition: evidence from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Paediatrics 131 (1), pp. 56-63. ISSN 0031-4005.
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Abstract
Objective: To examine the association between maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and cognitive performance in children at 5 and 7 years of age. Patients and Methods: Secondary analysis of data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a prospective population based cohort study of 19,517 children in the United Kingdom. Standardised cognitive assessments of children, involving components of the British Ability Scales (BAS-II) and a number skills test, were performed at 5 and 7 years of age. Principal components analysis was used to identify a general cognitive ability factor (g) from individual test scores. Mixed-effects linear regression models were fitted, controlling for multiple socio-demographic factors, child’s birth weight, child’s BMI, maternal smoking, and maternal diabetes. Complete data was available for 11,025 children at 5 years, and 9,882 children at 7 years. Results: Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was negatively associated with children’s cognitive performance (g) at age 7 (p < 0.0001). The overall effect size was modest: a 10-point increase in maternal BMI was associated with a decrease in children’s cognitive performance of 1/10th of a standard deviation. At age 5 there was trend towards reduced cognitive performance with increasing maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, although this did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.055). Conclusions: Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI is negatively associated with children’s cognitive performance, even after adjusting for multiple socio-demographic confounders and children’s BMI. The relationship appears to become stronger as children get older, although the overall effect size is modest.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Psychological Sciences |
| Research Centres and Institutes: | Children, Families and Social Issues, Institute for the Study of (Closed) |
| Depositing User: | Administrator |
| Date Deposited: | 09 Jan 2013 14:30 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:00 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/5618 |
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