Parental socioeconomic status is linked to cortical microstructure and language abilities in children and adolescents.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Norbom LB
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9284438 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:The humans' brain asymmetry is observed in the early stages of life and known to change further with age. The developmental trajectory of such an asymmetry has been observed for language, as one of the most lateralized cognitive functions. However, it remains unclear how these age-related changes in structural asymmetry are related to changes in language performance. We collected longitudinal structural magnetic resonance imaging data of children from 5 to 6 years to investigate structural asymmetry development and its linkage to the improvement of language comprehension abilities. Our results showed substantial changes of language performance across time, which were associated with changes of cortical thickness asymmetry in the triangular part of the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), constituting a portion of Broca's area. This suggests that language improvement is influenced by larger cortical thinning in the left triangular IFG compared to the right. This asymmetry in children's brain at age 5 and 6 years was further associated with the language performance at 7 years. To our knowledge, this is the first longitudinal study to demonstrate that children's improvement in sentence comprehension seems to depend on structural asymmetry changes in the IFG, further highlighting its crucial role in language acquisition.
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Project description:Background/Aims: Socioeconomic barriers and lifestyle conditions affect development of cardiovascular disease in adults, but little is known about the association of parental lifestyle and education with childhood health. We aimed to investigate the association of socioeconomic status (SES), migration background, parental physical activity (PA) and smoking status with micro-and macrovascular health in children. Methods: In 2016/2017, 833 school children (aged 7.2 ± 0.4 years) in Basel (Switzerland) were screened for retinal arteriolar-to-venular ratio (AVR), pulse wave velocity (PWV), SES, migration background and parental PA as well as smoking status. Results: High parental PA levels were associated with a favorable higher AVR (p = 0.020) and lower PWV (p = 0.035), but not independent of parental smoking status. Children with parents who smoked had a higher PWV [4.39 (4.35-4.42) m/s] compared to children with non-smoking parents [4.32 (4.29-4.34) m/s, p = 0.001]. Children of parents with a low household income had a higher PWV [4.36 (4.32-4.41) m/s] compared to children of parents with a high household income [4.30 (4.26-4.34) m/s, p = 0.033]. Low parental educational level was associated with a lower AVR [0.86 (0.85-0.88)] compared to children with highly educated parents [AVR:0.88 (0.87-0.88), p = 0.007; PWV: 4.33 (4.30-4.35) m/s, p = 0.041]. Children with a European background showed a higher AVR [0.88 (0.87-0.88)] compared to non-European children [AVR: (0.86 (0.85-0.87), p = 0.034]. Conclusion: Parental PA is associated with better macro- and microvascular childhood health. However, the positive association is lost when parental smoking is considered in the analysis. Socioeconomic factors seem to associate with subclinical vascular alterations in children. Primary prevention programs should focus on including parental lifestyle interventions and educational programs to reduce the burden of lifestyle-associated barriers in order to improve cardiovascular health during lifespan. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Exercise and Arterial Modulation in Youth, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02853747, NCT02853747.
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Project description:The associations among socioeconomic disadvantage, amygdala volume, and internalizing symptoms in children and adolescents are unclear and understudied in the extant literature. In this study, we examined associations between socioeconomic status (SES) and amygdala volume by age across childhood and adolescence to test whether socioeconomic disadvantage would be associated with larger amygdala volume at younger ages but with smaller amygdala volume at older ages. We then examined whether SES and amygdala volume were associated with children's levels of anxiety and depression. Participants were 3- to 21-year-olds from the Pediatric Imaging, Neurocognition, and Genetics study (N = 1,196), which included structural magnetic resonance imaging. A subsample (n = 327; 7-21 years of age) completed self-report measures of anxiety and depression. Lower family income and parental education were significantly associated with smaller amygdala volume in adolescence (13-21 years) but not significantly associated with amygdala volume at younger ages (3-12 years). Lower parental education, but not family income, was significantly associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression, even after accounting for family history of anxiety/depression. Smaller amygdala volume was significantly associated with higher levels of depression, even after accounting for parental education and family history of anxiety/depression. These findings suggest that associations between SES and amygdala structure may vary by age. In addition, smaller amygdala volume may be linked with an increased risk for depression in children and adolescents.
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Project description:Reading is a learned skill crucial for educational attainment. Children from families of lower socioeconomic status (SES) tend to have poorer reading performance and this gap widens across years of schooling. Reading relies on the orchestration of multiple neural systems integrated via specific white-matter pathways, but there is limited understanding about whether these pathways relate differentially to reading performance depending on SES background. Kindergarten white-matter FA and second-grade reading outcomes were investigated in an SES-diverse sample of 125 children. The three left-hemisphere white-matter tracts most associated with reading, and their right-hemisphere homologs, were examined: arcuate fasciculus (AF), superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), and inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF). There was a significant and positive association between SES and fractional anisotropy (FA) in the bilateral ILF in kindergarten. SES moderated the association between kindergarten ILF and second grade reading performance, such that it was positive in lower-SES children, but not significant in higher-SES children. These results have implications for understanding the role of the environment in the development of the neural pathways that support reading.
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Project description:INTRODUCTION:Language acquisition occurs rapidly during early childhood and lays the foundation for future reading success. However, little is known about the brain-language relationships in young children. The goal of this study was to investigate relationships between brain metabolites and prereading language abilities in healthy preschool-aged children. METHODS:Participants were 67 healthy children aged 3.0-5.4 years scanned on a 3T GE MR750w MRI scanner using short echo proton spectroscopy with a voxel placed in the anterior cingulate gyrus (n = 56) and/or near the left angular gyrus (n = 45). Children completed the NEPSY-II Phonological Processing and Speeded Naming subtests at the same time as their MRI scan. We calculated glutamate, glutamine, creatine/phosphocreatine, choline, inositol, and NAA concentrations, and correlated these with language skills. RESULTS:In the anterior cingulate, Phonological Processing Scaled Scores were significantly correlated with glutamate, creatine, and inositol concentrations. In the left angular gyrus, Speeded Naming Combined Scaled Scores showed trend correlations with choline and glutamine concentrations. CONCLUSIONS:For the first time, we demonstrate relationships between brain metabolites and prereading language abilities in young children. Our results show relationships between language and inositol and glutamate that may reflect glial differences underlying language function, and a relationship of language with creatine. The trend between Speeded Naming and choline is consistent with previous research in older children and adults; however, larger sample sizes are needed to confirm whether this relationship is indeed significant in young children. These findings help understand the brain basis of language, and may ultimately lead to earlier and more effective interventions for reading disabilities.
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Project description:The present study examined the prospective association of parental household income, education level, migration background, and physical activity (PA) behavior with the development of pulse wave velocity (PWV) in prepubertal children. A total of 223 children (initial age 6-8 years) were included in this prospective school-based cohort study from 2014 to 2018. Parental socioeconomic status, migration background, and PA behavior were assessed by the use of questionnaires at both times points. PWV was measured by an oscillometric device at follow-up (2018). No significant association of household income, education level, and parental migration background with PWV in children after four years was found. However, a high level of maternal PA was related to a lower childhood PWV at follow-up (mean (95% CI) 4.6 (4.54-4.66) m/s) compared to children of mothers with a low PA behavior (mean (95% CI) 4.7 (4.64-4.77) m/s) (p = 0.049). Children of mothers with a high PA level revealed a beneficial arterial stiffness after four years. Little evidence for an association of socioeconomic status and migration background with childhood arterial stiffness was found. Increased parental PA seems to support the development of childhood vascular health and should be considered in the generation of future primary prevention strategies of childhood cardiovascular health.
| S-EPMC8346041 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ImportanceLow socioeconomic status is associated with higher all-cause mortality and risks for aging-related diseases. Biological aging is a potential process underlying health conditions related to social disadvantages, which may be present from birth onward.ObjectiveTo evaluate the association of parental socioeconomic status with telomere length (TL) at birth, a marker of biological aging.Design, setting, and participantsThis prospective birth cohort study was conducted among 1504 mother-newborn pairs in Belgium recruited between February 1, 2010, and July 1, 2017.ExposuresParental socioeconomic measures, including maternal educational level, occupation, paternal educational level, and neighborhood income based on median annual household income.Main outcomes and measuresMean relative TL was measured in cord blood and placental tissue. By constructing a principal component, an integrative socioeconomic measure was derived that integrates parental socioeconomic status and neighborhood income. Multivariable adjusted regression analyses were performed to associate the integrative socioeconomic measure and TL at birth.ResultsIn 1026 newborns (517 boys; mean [SD] gestational age, 39.2 [1.4] weeks), a higher socioeconomic status was associated with longer cord blood TL and placental TL. Each unit increment in the integrative socioeconomic status measure was associated with 2.1% (95% CI, 0.9%-3.4%; P < .001) longer cord blood TL in boys, while no association was observed for girls (0.5% longer cord blood TL; 95% CI, -0.9% to 1.8%; P = .50). The sex-specific socioeconomic status interaction revealed a stronger association in boys compared with newborn girls (1.6%; 95% CI, 0.02%-3.3%; P = .047 for interaction). In placental tissue, higher socioeconomic status was associated with 1.8% (95% CI, 0.3%-3.3%; P = .02) longer TL in newborn boys but not in girls (0.4% longer TL; 95% CI, -1.2% to 2.0%; P = .63). For placental tissue, no sex and socioeconomic status interaction on TL was observed (1.4%; 95% CI, -0.5% to 3.4%; P = .16 for interaction).Conclusions and relevanceThis study suggests that parental socioeconomic status is associated with newborn TL, especially in boys. The results indicate that familial social economic factors are associated with the potential cellular longevity of the next generation, with a potential higher transgenerational vulnerability for newborn boys.
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Project description:An internal locus of control may be particularly valuable for youth with low socioeconomic status (SES), yet the mechanisms that externalize their control remain unclear. This study uses data on 16,450 US 8th graders surveyed for the National Education Longitudinal Study in 1988 and 1990. Results indicate family income is more closely associated with adolescents' locus of control than parents' occupations and educational attainment, and that race does not independently affect adolescents' locus of control net of these other components of SES. Findings also indicate higher SES adolescents feel more internal locus of control in largest part because their parents discuss school more often with them, their homes have more books and other cognitive resources, they receive higher grades in middle school science and social studies, they are more likely to attend a private rather than public school, their friends are more academically oriented, and they feel more safe at school.
| S-EPMC6400477 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background: Preterm birth is associated with increased risk of neuromotor impairment. Rates of major neuromotor impairment (cerebral palsy) have decreased; however, in a large proportion of those who do not develop cerebral palsy impaired neuromotor function is observed and this often has implications for everyday life. The aim of this study was to investigate motor performance in preterm born adolescents without cerebral palsy, and to examine associations with alterations of motor system pathway structure. Design/Methods: Thirty-two adolescents (12 males) without cerebral palsy, born before 33 weeks of gestation (mean 27.4 weeks, SD 2.4; birth weight mean 1,084.5 g; SD 387.2), treated at a single tertiary unit, were assessed (median age 16 years; min 14, max 18). Timed performance and quality of movements were assessed with the Zürich Neuromotor Assessment. Neuroimaging included Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging for tractography of the major motor tracts and measurement of fractional anisotropy as a measure of microstructure of the tracts along the major motor pathways. Separate analyses were conducted for areas with predominantly single and predominantly crossing fiber regions. Results: Motor performance in both tasks assessing timed performance and quality of movements, was poorer than expected in the preterm group in relation to norm population. The strongest significant correlations were seen between performance in tasks assessing movement quality and fractional anisotropy in corpus callosum fibers connecting primary motor, primary somatosensory and premotor areas. In addition, timed motor performance was significantly related to fractional anisotropy in the cortico-spinal and thalamo-cortical to premotor area fibers, and the corpus callosum. Conclusions: Impairments in motor abilities are present in preterm born adolescents without major neuromotor impairment and in the absence of focal brain injury. Altered microstructure of the corpus callosum microstructure appears a crucial factor, in particular for movement quality.
| S-EPMC6476930 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundSocioeconomic status (SES) as a determinant of obesity has received scant attention in Japan. This study examined the association between SES and overweight among Japanese children and adolescents.MethodsCross-sectional analyses of a representative sample of Japanese children (6-11 years: n = 397) and adolescents (12-18 years: n = 397) were performed, with measured heights and weights from the 2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the 2010 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions. Overweight, including obesity, was defined by International Obesity Task Force cut-offs. SES indicators included household income, equivalent household expenditure, parental educational attainment, and parental occupational class.ResultsOverweight prevalence was 12.3% in children and 9.1% in adolescents. Adolescents living in middle-income households were more likely to be overweight than those living in high-income households (OR 2.26, 95% CI, 1.01-5.67) after adjustment for age, sex, and parental weight status. Similarly, adolescents living in households with low expenditure levels were more likely to be overweight than those living in households with high expenditure levels (OR 3.40, 95% CI, 1.20-9.60). In contrast, no significant association was observed among children.ConclusionsOur results indicated that low household economic status was associated with being overweight, independent of parental weight status, among Japanese adolescents.
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