Abstract
Background
There is minimal information about the association of head growth at different stages of childhood with cognitive ability.
Objective
To determine the relationship of newborn head size and head growth during infancy, childhood and adolescence with attained education, a proxy for cognitive ability.
Study design
Prospective birth cohort study.
Setting
Married women living in South Delhi between 1969 and 1973.
Participants
The New Delhi Birth Cohort study followed up 8030 newborns born in 1969–1973 with head circumference, weight and height measurements at birth and 6–12 monthly until adulthood. Of these, 1526 men and women were followed up at the age of 26–32 years.
Outcomes
Association between years of schooling, as an indicator of cognitive ability, and newborn head circumference and conditional measures of head growth during infancy, childhood and adolescence.
Results
In unadjusted analyses, newborn head size was positively associated with years of education [(β (95% CI)=0.30 (0.14 to 0.47) years per SD head circumference], as was head growth from birth to 6 months [β (95% CI)=0.44 (0.28 to 0.60) years per SD conditional head growth], 6 months to 2 years [β (95% CI)=0.31 (0.15 to 0.47) years per SD conditional head growth] and 2 to 11 years [β (95% CI)=0.20 (0.03 to 0.36) years per SD conditional head growth]. There were similar findings for height and body mass index (BMI). In the adjusted model containing all growth measures, gestational age, and socioeconomic status (SES) at birth as predictors, only SES was positively associated with educational attainment.
Conclusion
Educational attainment in this population is positively associated with socioeconomic status and its influence on inter-related early life (fetal, infant and childhood) factors like nutritional status and brain growth.
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Funding
Funding: Adult follow-up was funded by the British Heart Foundation (grant RG 98001). The original cohort study was supported by the National Center for Health Statistics (USA) and the Indian Council of Medical Research. Shivam Pandey was supported by a PhD fellowship from the DBT-Wellcome Trust-India Alliance.
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Contributions
Contributors: SKB has led the New Delhi Birth Cohort Study since the cohort’s inception in 1969. The current study was designed by SP, HPSS, SKB, CHDF and CO. Data analysis was carried out by SP, CO, ND, SS and HPSS. The manuscript was drafted by SP, CHDF and CO, and critically modified by ND, ZSP, SS, SKB and HPSS. All authors approved the final version of manuscript, and are accountable for all aspects related to the study.
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Ethics clearance: Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi; No. F.501(134)03/EC05/MC(ACA)/12358 dated 11.08.2005.
Competing interests: None stated.
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Pandey, S., Devasenapathy, N., Sinha, S. et al. Childhood Head Growth and Educational Attainment in an Indian Cohort. Indian Pediatr 59, 13–20 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-022-2412-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-022-2412-x