Associations of early-life exposures and socioeconomic status with cognitive development at preadolescence.

Background: The long-term relations of socioeconomic status (SES) and early-life exposures with cognitive development at preadolescence are not fully understood, especially in low SES populations. We examined associations of SES and early-life exposures including feeding practices, physical growth and infections with cognitive development among preadolescents from underprivileged communities.

Methods: A prospective study was conducted among 146 healthy children from two relatively low SES Arab villages in Israel, who were recruited at age 1-9 weeks and followed until age 18 months.