Physical growth and neurodevelopment during the first year of life: a cohort study of the Japan Environment and Children's Study

The relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern during early pregnancy and behavioral, mood and cognitive development in children under 1 year of age: a prospective cohort study

PURPOSE

To investigate the potential relationship between diet quality, represented by the Mediterranean diet score, during early pregnancy and behavioral, mood, and cognitive development in children under 1 year of age in a prospective cohort study in Iran.

METHODS

658 Iranian pregnant women and their infants participated in this prospective birth cohort study. The Mediterranean diet score was calculated by using data from a food frequency questionnaire during the first trimester of pregnancy. We assessed the children's development using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) at 6-month age. We used Cox proportional hazard model to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of ASQ domains across categories of the Mediterranean diet score.

RESULTS

The mean age of the mothers was 28.8 ± 5.08 years old, and the average follow-up duration was 90 weeks. The mean BMI of the mothers before pregnancy was 25.1 ± 4.43 kg/m2. In the multivariable-adjusted model, those infants whose mothers were in the second (HR: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.19, 1.04; P = 0.06) and third (HR: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.17, 0.89; P = 0.03) tertiles of the Mediterranean diet score had a lower risk of communication impairment compared to those who were at the first tertile. There was no association between maternal adherence to the Mediterranean diet during early pregnancy and other domains of the ASQ.

CONCLUSIONS

Greater adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern during the first trimester of pregnancy may be favorably associated with communication abilities at 6-month aged infants. More large-scale cohort studies are needed to confirm our findings.

Neurodevelopment and Dietary Intake in Toddlers-A Cross-Sectional Study from the Healthy Children 2021 Project

Little is known about the potential associations between neurodevelopment, dietary diversity and food processing in the toddler period. This study aimed to estimate the association between these dietary quality dimensions and neurodevelopment in toddlers. Data for this cross-sectional analysis came from the Healthy Children 2021 project and included 212 toddlers (51.9% females, aged 12-36 months) from 15 Portuguese childcare centers. Neurodevelopment was assessed through Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. Dietary intake was gathered by a two-day non-consecutive dietary recall. The food items were categorised with NOVA classification. Dietary diversity was explored through Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD). Logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders were performed. Girls with a higher energy contribution of unprocessed/minimally processed foods and with an above median MDD score had higher odds of achieving a higher neurodevelopment score (aOR:1.04; 95%CI 1.01; 1.08 and aOR:2.26; 95%CI 1.01; 5.06, respectively); no significant association was observed in boys. Our findings suggest that these dietary dimensions are associated with a higher neurodevelopment in toddler girls. This should be further studied as a possible early link between dietary factors and neurodevelopment. Promotion of healthy eating can be promising in improving neurocognitive development and might help to introduce public health recommendations for toddlers' nutrition.

Effects of prenatal exposure to PM2.5 and its composition on cognitive and motor functions in children at 12 months of age: The Shanghai Birth Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Prenatal fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) exposure has been linked to infant cognitive and motor functions, but the effects of PM_2.5 chemical composition remain unclear.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to explore the associations of prenatal PM_2.5 and its composition exposure with infant cognitive and motor functions.

METHODS

We studied 2,435 mother-infant pairs in the Shanghai Birth Cohort Study. PM_2.5 and its seven compositions [primary particles (black carbon, mineral dust and sea salts) and secondary particles (NH₄⁺, NO₃^-, SO₄^2- and organic matter)] during thethreetrimesters ofpregnancy were retrieved from the V4.CH.03 product developed by using a combined geoscience-statistical method. At the 12-month-old follow-up, infant cognitive and motor functions in five domains were assessed using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ). We used multivariable linear regressions to estimate the effects of PM_2.5 and its composition on the ASQ scores, for all infants and stratifying by sex and breastfeeding duration.

RESULTS

PM_2.5 exposure was negatively associated with gross motor, problem-solving and personal-social scores for all infants. PM_2.5 compositions were inversely associated with ASQ scores in all five domains, and the effects of different compositions varied across domains. Specifically, all compositions except organic matter were correlated with lower problem-solving scores [e.g., ( [Formula: see text]  =  - 10.79, 95 % CI: -17.40, -4.18) ∼ ( [Formula: see text]  =  - 4.68, 95 % CI: -7.84, -1.53); for each 10 μg/m³ increase in PM_2.5 compositions during the third trimester]. Primary and some secondary particles (organic matter, NO₃^-) were related to lower gross motor scores. Secondary particles were also inversely associated with communication (organic matter and NO₃^-), fine motor (NH₄⁺, NO₃^-, SO₄^2-) and personal-social (NH₄⁺) scores. Additionally, boys and infants breastfed for < 6 months appeared to be more susceptible.

CONCLUSIONS

We found negative associations of PM_2.5 and its compositions with infant cognitive and motor functions over a range of domains, especially the problem-solving domain.

Advanced paternal age diversifies individual trajectories of vocalization patterns in neonatal mice

Infant crying is a communicative behavior impaired in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Because advanced paternal age is a risk factor for NDDs, we performed computational approaches to evaluate how paternal age affected vocal communication and body weight development in C57BL/6 mouse offspring from young and aged fathers. Analyses of ultrasonic vocalization (USV) consisting of syllables showed that advanced paternal age reduced the number and duration of syllables, altered the syllable composition, and caused lower body weight gain in pups. Pups born to young fathers had convergent vocal characteristics with a rich repertoire, whereas those born to aged fathers exhibited more divergent vocal patterns with limited repertoire. Additional analyses revealed that some pups from aged fathers displayed atypical USV trajectories. Thus, our study indicates that advanced paternal age has a significant effect on offspring's vocal development. Our computational analyses are effective in characterizing altered individual diversity.

Impact of early term and late preterm birth on infants' neurodevelopment: evidence from a cohort study in Wuhan, China

Background

The incidences of early term and late preterm birth have increased worldwide during recent years. However, there is a lack of prospective study about the influence of early term and late preterm birth on infants’ neurodevelopment, especially at the early stage. Therefore, we conducted this cohort study to investigate the impact of early term and late preterm birth on infants’ neurodevelopment within 6 months.

Methods

This cohort study was conducted in Wuhan, China, between October 2012 and September 2013. A total of 4243 singleton infants born within 34-41 weeks of gestation at Wuhan Children’s Hospital were included. The Gesell Developmental Scale (GDS) was utilized to evaluate the neurodevelopment of infants.

Results

Among the 4243 included participants, 155 (3.65%) were late preterm infants, 1288 (30.36%) were early term infants, and 2800 (65.99%) were full term infants. After adjusted for potential confounders, significant negative relationship was shown between late preterm birth and development quotient (DQ) in all domains of neurodevelopment: gross motor (β = − 17.42, 95% CI: − 21.15 to − 13.69), fine motor (β = − 23.61, 95% CI: − 28.52 to − 18.69), adaptability (β = − 10.10, 95% CI: − 13.82 to − 6.38), language (β = − 6.28, 95% CI: − 9.82 to − 2.74) and social behavior (β = − 5.99, 95% CI: − 9.59 to − 2.39). There was a significant negative trend for early term birth in DQ of fine motor (β = − 2.01, 95% CI: − 3.93 to − 0.09). Late preterm infants had a significantly elevated risk of neurodevelopmental delay in domains of gross motor (adjusted OR = 3.82, 95% CI: 2.67 to 5.46), fine motor (adjusted OR = 3.51, 95% CI: 2.47 to 5.01), and adaptability (adjusted OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.12 to 2.29), whereas early term birth was significantly associated with neurodevelopmental delay of fine motor (adjusted OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.42).

Conclusions

This study suggested that late preterm birth mainly elevated the risk of neurodevelopmental delay of gross motor, fine motor, and adaptability, whereas early term birth was associated with the developmental delay of fine motor within 6 months. Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness and necessity of the interventions at the early stage for early term and late preterm infants who had suspected neurodevelopmental delay.