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Associations of fat and fat-free mass at birth and accretion from 0 to 5 years with cognitive function at later childhood: the Ethiopian infant anthropometry and body composition birth cohort

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 November 2024

Rahma Ali Open the ORCID record for Rahma Ali [Opens in a new window] ,
Beakal Zinab ,
Bikila S. Megersa ,
Daniel Yilma ,
Tsinuel Girma Open the ORCID record for Tsinuel Girma [Opens in a new window] ,
Bitiya Admassu ,
Suzanne Filteau Open the ORCID record for Suzanne Filteau [Opens in a new window] ,
Henrik Friis ,
Jonathan C. K. Wells  and
Akanksha A. Marphatia
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Rahma Ali*
Affiliation:
Department of Population and Family Health, Faculty of Public Health, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia Department of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Beakal Zinab
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Public Health, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia
Bikila S. Megersa
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Daniel Yilma
Affiliation:
Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia
Tsinuel Girma
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia
Bitiya Admassu
Affiliation:
Department of Population and Family Health, Faculty of Public Health, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia
Suzanne Filteau
Affiliation:
Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
Henrik Friis
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Jonathan C. K. Wells
Affiliation:
Population, Policy and Practice Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK
Akanksha A. Marphatia
Affiliation:
Population, Policy and Practice Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK
Mette F. Olsen
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
Rasmus Wibaek
Affiliation:
Clinical and Translational Research, Copenhagen University Hospital – Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Herlev, Denmark
Mubarek Abera
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia
*
Corresponding author: Rahma Ali; Email: rahmiii.ali@gmail.com
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Abstract

Early childhood growth is associated with cognitive function. However, the independent associations of fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) with cognitive function are not well understood. We investigated associations of FM and FFM at birth and 0–5 years accretion with cognitive function at 10 years. Healthy-term newborns were enrolled in this cohort. FM and FFM were measured at birth, 1·5, 2·5, 3·5, 4·5 and 6 months and 4 and 5 years. Cognitive function was assessed using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) at 10 years. FM and FFM accretions were computed using statistically independent conditional accretion from 0 to 3 months, 3 to 6 months, 6 months to 4 years and 4 to 5 years. Multiple linear regression was used to assess associations. At the 10-year follow-up, we assessed 318 children with a mean (sd) age of 9·8 (1·0) years. A 1 sd higher birth FFM was associated with a 0·14 sd (95 % CI 0·01, 0·28) higher PPVT at 10 years. FFM accretion from 0 to 3 and 3 to 6 months was associated with PPVT at 10 years: β = 0·5 sd (95 % CI 0·08, 0·93) and β = −0·48 sd (95 % CI −0·90, −0·07, respectively. FFM accretion after 6 months showed no association with PPVT. Neither FM at birth nor 0–5 years accretion showed an association with PPVT. Overall, birth FFM, but not FM, was associated with cognitive function at 10 years, while the association of FFM accretion and cognitive function varied across distinct developmental stages in infancy. The mechanisms underlying this varying association between body composition and cognitive function need further investigation.

Keywords

Fat massFat-free massPeabody Picture Vocabulary TestCognitive functionEthiopia
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 132 , Issue 12 , 28 December 2024 , pp. 1621 - 1628
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society

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Footnotes

†

These authors are joint senior authors.

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