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Association of perinatal factors and school performance in primary school Chilean children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 February 2013

L. Villarroel ,
L. Karzulovic ,
J. Manzi ,
J. G. Eriksson  and
F. Mardones
L. Villarroel
Affiliation:
Division of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
L. Karzulovic
Affiliation:
Division of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
J. Manzi
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
J. G. Eriksson
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Unit of General Practice, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland Folkhalsan Research Centre, Helsinki, Finland
F. Mardones*
Affiliation:
Division of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr F. Mardones, Department of Public Health, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Street Marcoleta 434, 833-0073 Santiago, Chile. (Email mardones@med.puc.cl or fmardons@uc.cl)
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Abstract

The associations between school performance and cognitive abilities with birth characteristics have mostly been studied without taking into consideration the effects of gestational age (GA). Our aim was to study the association between prenatal growth and cognitive function in term-born Chilean school children. A cohort of over 200,000 term-born fourth graders who took the regular national test for school performance was studied. Outcome parameters were language and mathematics test scores in relation to prenatal growth. A total of 256,040 subjects took the test and 220,940 were included in the final study sample. Prenatal growth was modestly, but significantly, associated with school performance. Adjusted β coefficients for 1 cm increase in birth length were 1.28 and 0.77 for mathematics and language, respectively; the corresponding values for 100 g increase in birth weight were 0.59 and 0.34, respectively. Increased GA was associated with lower test scores. Adjusted β coefficients for the birth measurements generally had a lower strength of association than those of socio-economic factors. However, the confounders most strongly associated with educational achievements were socio-economic factors, known to be associated with birth size. Lower socio-economic status is known to negatively influence both prenatal growth and cognitive function, supporting the overall importance of prenatal growth in relation to cognitive outcomes.

Keywords

childrencognitive aspectsprenatal growthretrospective study
Type
Original Article
Information
Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease , Volume 4 , Issue 3 , June 2013 , pp. 232 - 238
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 2013 

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