Dataset Information

Association between early child development trajectories and adult cognitive function in a 50-year longitudinal study in Guatemala.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Few studies have used longitudinal data to study the development of cognition over the life course in low-income and middle-income countries. The objectives of this study were to assess predictors of cognitive development trajectories from 6 months through 7 years, and if these trajectories predicted adult cognitive function in a birth cohort from Guatemala.

Design

We analysed data from the INCAP Nutrition Supplementation Trial Longitudinal Study in Guatemala. Cognition was assessed at eight different time points between 6 months and 7 years. We derived childhood development trajectories using latent class growth analysis. We assessed predictors of the trajectories using ordinal logistic regression, and associations between childhood trajectories and adult non-verbal intelligence and literacy at age 18-52 years (mean±SD =42.7±6.4 years) using mixed models.

Setting

The study was conducted in four Guatemalan villages.

Participants

The study included 927 participants from Guatemala with repeated measurements of cognitive function during the first 7 years of life.

Results

We identified three trajectories of cognitive development (high: n=214, average: n=583, low: n=130). Participants whose mothers were taller (proportional log odds (PO)=0.03, 95% CI=0.01 to 0.06), had more years of schooling (PO=0.15, 95% CI=0.06 to 0.25), or lived in households with higher socioeconomic scores (PO=0.19, 95% CI=0.09 to 0.29) were more likely to follow higher trajectories. Childhood trajectories predicted adult non-verbal intelligence (high=18.4±0.3, average=14.6±0.53, low=11.4±0.9) and literacy (high=63.8±2.0, average=48.6±1.2, low=33.9± 2.6) scores.

Conclusions

In this sample from Guatemala, cognitive development trajectories from 6 months through 7 years were associated with adult non-verbal intelligence and literacy. These findings provide evidence of tracking of cognition over time in a transitioning low-income setting.

SUBMITTER: Gonzalez Casanova I

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8246364 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundData on the long-term trajectories of lung function are scarce in COVID-19 survivors.MethodsWe re-analyzed the data from a prospective longitudinal cohort follow-up study of COVID-19 survivors over 2 years after infection. All participants were divided into scale 3, scale 4 and scale 5-6 groups according to seven-category ordinal scale. The changes of pulmonary function tests (PFTs), the Modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) Dyspnea Scale, 6-min walking test health-related quality of life (HRQoL) across the three serial follow-up visits were evaluated, and compared among three groups. We performed liner regression to determine potential factors that were associated with changes of PFTs and distance walked in 6 minutes (6MWD).FindingsIn this study, 288 participants generally presented an improvement of PFTs parameters from 6 months to 1 year after infection. The scale 5-6 group displayed a significantly higher increase of PFTs compared with scale 3 and scale 4 groups (all p<0.0167), and corticosteroids therapy was identified as a protective factor for the PFTs improvement with a correlation coefficient of 2.730 (0.215-5.246) for forced vital capacity (FVC), 2.909 (0.383-5.436) for total lung capacity (TLC), and 3.299 (0.211-6.387) for diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide (DLco), respectively. From 1-year to 2-year follow-up, the PFTs parameters generally decreased, which was not observed to be associated with changes of 6MWD and HRQoL. Dyspnea (mMRC≥1) generally decreased over time (23.3% [61/262] for 6-month, 27.9% [67/240] for 1-year, 13.4% [35/261] for 2-year), and 6MWD increased continuously (500.0 m vs 505.0 m vs 525.0 m).InterpretationCorticosteroids therapy during hospitalization was a protective factor for PFTs improvement from 6 months to 1 year. The relatively fast decline trend of PFTs from 1 year to 2 years needs to be paid attention and further validated in the future follow-up study.FundingsThis work was supported by Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences (CIFMS 2021-I2M-1-048) and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFC0864700).

Project description:ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to analyze the bidirectional association between handgrip strength (HGS) and cognitive performance in different cognitive functions in a European population and to evaluate the predictive validity of HGS for the risk of future cognitive impairment in aging individuals.MethodsThis was a prospective cohort study conducted using data on individuals over 50 years of age from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). HGS measures and scores in numeracy, recall, and verbal fluency were repeated and analyzed biannually for 4 years and were used in generalized estimating equations to test the bidirectional association, categorized by sex.ResultsOf the 8236 individuals included, 55.73% were women with a mean age of 67.55 (standard deviation [SD] = 8.4) years and 44.27% were men with a mean age of 68.42 (SD = 7.7) years. HGS predicted cognitive decline in both sexes, except for numeracy in men, even after adjustments. The strongest association with HGS in women was in verbal fluency (β = .094; 95% CI = 0.039 to 0.151), whereas the strongest association with HGS in men was in delayed verbal recall (β = .095; 95% CI = 0.039 to 0.151). Conversely, the greatest cognitive predictor of HGS decline was verbal fluency in men (β = .796; 95% CI = 0.464 to 1.128), and in women (β = .801; 95% CI= 0.567 to 1.109).ConclusionThere is a significant and bidirectional association between HGS and different cognitive functions in a European multicentric population. This bidirectional association differed between sexes.ImpactBoth men and women who presented with cognitive decline also showed early changes in their HGS measures, and vice versa, but there still were differences between the sexes. These findings reinforce that HGS may be a simple and inexpensive method to identify early signs of cognitive decline, and that studies and rehabilitation strategies should be more sex specific.

Project description:ObjectiveThe inter-individual variability in cognitive changes may be early indicators of major health events. We aimed to determine whether late-life cognitive trajectories were associated with incident dementia, persistent physical disability and all-cause mortality.MethodsData came from a cohort of older community-dwelling individuals aged 70 years or above in Australia and the United States. Global cognition, verbal fluency, episodic memory and psychomotor speed were assessed regularly at up to seven waves between 2010 and 2017. Dementia, disability in activities of daily living, and death were adjudicated between 2017 and 2020. Latent classes of cognitive trajectories over seven years were determined using group-based trajectory modeling. Multivariable logistic regression was used for the prospective associations between cognitive trajectories and these outcomes.ResultsCognitive trajectories were defined for 16,174 participants (mean age: 78.9 years; 56.7% female) who were alive and without incident dementia or disability by 2017, among which 14,655 participants were included in the association analysis. Between three and five trajectory classes were identified depending on the cognitive test. Cognitive trajectories were strongly associated with the risk of dementia. For example, compared to those in the highest-functioning trajectory, the worst performers of episodic memory had a 37-fold increased risk of dementia (95% CI: 17.23-82.64). The lowest trajectories of both global cognition and episodic memory also predicted increased mortality risk (OR: 1.80, 95% CI: 1.28-2.52; OR: 1.61, 95% CI: 1.09-2.36, respectively), while only slow psychomotor speed was marginally associated with physical disability (OR: 2.39, 95% CI: 0.99-5.77).ConclusionsIn older individuals, cognitive trajectories appear to be early indicators of clinically relevant health outcomes. Systematic cognitive assessments as part of routine geriatric evaluation may facilitate early identification and interventions for those individuals at highest risk.

Project description:BackgroundGrowth faltering in early childhood is associated with poor human capital attainment, but associations of linear growth in childhood with executive and socioemotional functioning in adulthood are understudied.ObjectivesIn a Guatemalan cohort, we identified distinct trajectories of linear growth in early childhood, assessed their predictors, and examined associations between growth trajectories and neurodevelopmental outcomes in adulthood. We also assessed the mediating role of schooling on the association of growth trajectories with adult cognitive outcomes.MethodsIn 2017-2019, we prospectively followed 1499 Guatemalan adults who participated in a food supplementation trial in early childhood (1969-1977). We derived height-for-age sex-specific growth trajectories from birth to 84 mo using latent class growth analysis.ResultsWe identified 3 growth trajectories (low, intermediate, high) with parallel slopes and intercepts already differentiated at birth in both sexes. Children of taller mothers were more likely to belong to the high and intermediate trajectories [relative risk ratio (RRR): 1.21; 95% CI: 1.15, 1.26, and RRR: 1.11; 95% CI: 1.07, 1.15, per 1-cm increase in height, respectively] compared with the low trajectory. Children in the wealthiest compared with the poorest socioeconomic tertile were more likely to belong to the high trajectory compared with the low trajectory (RRR: 2.24; 95% CI: 1.29, 3.88). In males, membership in the high compared with low trajectory was positively associated with nonverbal fluid intelligence, working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility at ages 40-57 y. Sex-adjusted results showed that membership in the high compared with low trajectory was positively associated with meaning and purpose scores at ages 40-57 y. Associations of intermediate compared with low growth trajectories with study outcomes were also positive but of lesser magnitude. Schooling partially mediated the associations between high and intermediate growth trajectories and measures of cognitive ability in adulthood.ConclusionsModifiable and nonmodifiable risk factors predicted growth throughout childhood. Membership in the high and intermediate growth trajectories was positively associated with adult cognitive and socioemotional functioning.