Skip Navigation



IJE Advance Access published online on March 3, 2005
International Journal of Epidemiology, doi:10.1093/ije/dyi038
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
34/3/673    most recent
dyi038v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Related articles in Int. J. Epidemiol.
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Pearce, M. S.
Right arrow Articles by Parker, L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Pearce, M. S.
Right arrow Articles by Parker, L.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

IJE © International Epidemiological Association 2005; all rights reserved.
Accepted January 10, 2005

Original paper

Growth in early life and childhood IQ at age 11 years: the Newcastle Thousand Families Study

Mark S. Pearce 1*, Ian J. Deary 2, Allan H. Young 3, and Louise Parker 1

1 Paediatric and Lifecourse Epidemiology Research Group, School of Clinical Medical Sciences, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
2 Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
3 School of Neurology, Neurobiology and Psychiatry, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Mark S. Pearce, E-mail: M.S.Pearce{at}ncl.ac.uk


  Abstract

Background It has been suggested that in addition to genetic factors, fetal and post-natal growth influence childhood cognition, although it is unclear whether such an effect continues throughout childhood. This study aimed at investigating the potential relationships between childhood IQ at age 11 years and birth weight and height at the ages of 9 and 13 years, after adjusting for the confounding factors available to this investigation.

Methods The Newcastle Thousand Families study, a prospectively followed cohort, originally consisted of all 1142 births in the city of Newcastle in May and June 1947. Using data on 733 members of this cohort, we investigated the associations between IQ at age 11, and birth weight and height at ages 9 and 13 years.

Results Birth weight showed no association with childhood IQ. However, height at age 9 years was a significant predictor of childhood IQ after adjusting for socioeconomic status (standardized regression coefficient b = 2.6, 95% CI 1.6-3.6, P < 0.0001). Height at age 13 was also a significant predictor of IQ after adjusting for socioeconomic status (b = 3.4, 95% CI 2.3-4.4, P = 0.001), and explained an additional 2.5% of the variation in IQ scores to that already explained by socioeconomic status and height at age nine.

Conclusions These results suggest a continuing effect of post-natal growth on childhood cognition beyond the age of 9 years. Post-natal growth, which may be influenced by genetic factors and nutrition and socioeconomic circumstances in childhood, may be more important than fetal growth in terms of childhood cognition.

Keywords: Cognition; child; birth weight; growth; fetal origins hypothesis; height.
A Commentary has been commissioned to accompany this article and will appear with this paper in the printed issue.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?

Related articles in Int. J. Epidemiol.:

Commentary: Height and intelligence
Catharine Gale
Int. J. Epidemiol. 2005 10.1093/ije/dyi064. [Abstract]  



This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am J EpidemiolHome page
K. Raikkonen, T. Forsen, M. Henriksson, E. Kajantie, K. Heinonen, A.-K. Pesonen, J. T. Leskinen, I. Laaksonen, C. Osmond, D. J. P. Barker, et al.
Growth Trajectories and Intellectual Abilities in Young Adulthood: The Helsinki Birth Cohort Study
Am. J. Epidemiol., August 15, 2009; 170(4): 447 - 455.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Int J EpidemiolHome page
M. S Pearce, N. C Unwin, L. Parker, and A. W Craft
Cohort Profile: The Newcastle Thousand Families 1947 Birth Cohort
Int. J. Epidemiol., August 1, 2009; 38(4): 932 - 937.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
B. F. P. Broekman, Y.-H. Chan, Y.-S. Chong, S.-C. Quek, D. Fung, Y.-L. Low, Y.-P. Ooi, P. D. Gluckman, M. J. Meaney, T.-Y. Wong, et al.
The Influence of Birth Size on Intelligence in Healthy Children
Pediatrics, June 1, 2009; 123(6): e1011 - e1016.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ThoraxHome page
P W G Tennant, G J. Gibson, and M S Pearce
Lifecourse predictors of adult respiratory function: results from the Newcastle Thousand Families Study
Thorax, September 1, 2008; 63(9): 823 - 830.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
K. Heinonen, K. Raikkonen, A.-K. Pesonen, E. Kajantie, S. Andersson, J. G. Eriksson, A. Niemela, T. Vartia, J. Peltola, and A. Lano
Prenatal and Postnatal Growth and Cognitive Abilities at 56 Months of Age: A Longitudinal Study of Infants Born at Term
Pediatrics, May 1, 2008; 121(5): e1325 - e1333.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Psychosom. Med.Home page
S. F. Suglia, R. O. Wright, J. Schwartz, and R. J. Wright
Association Between Lung Function and Cognition Among Children in a Prospective Birth Cohort Study
Psychosom Med, April 1, 2008; 70(3): 356 - 362.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Int J EpidemiolHome page
C. Gale
Commentary: Height and intelligence
Int. J. Epidemiol., June 1, 2005; 34(3): 678 - 679.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.