Parental history of moderate to severe infantile malnutrition is associated with cognitive deficits in their adult offspring.

Objectives: We compared the IQ and academic achievement of the young adult offspring of parents malnourished in infancy and those of a healthy control group in order to test the hypothesis that the offspring of previously malnourished individuals would show IQ and academic deficits that could be related to reduced parental socioeconomic status.

Methods: We conducted a group comparison study based on a community sample in Barbados (Barbados Nutrition Study). Participants were adult children ≥16 years of age whose parents had been malnourished during the first year of life (n = 64; Mean age 19.3 years; 42% male) or whose parents were healthy community controls (n = 50; Mean age 19.7 years; 48% male). The primary outcome was estimated IQ (Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence); a secondary outcome was academic achievement (Wide Range Achievement Test - Third Edition). Data were analyzed using PROC MIXED with and without adjusting for parental socioeconomic status (Hollingshead Index of Social Position).

Results: IQ was reduced in the offspring of previously malnourished parents relative to the offspring of controls (9.8 point deficit; P < 0.01), but this difference was not explained by parental socioeconomic status or parental IQ. The magnitude of the group difference was smaller for basic academic skills and did not meet criteria for statistical significance.

Discussion: The deleterious impact of infant malnutrition on cognitive function may be transmitted to the next generation; however, this intergenerational effect does not appear to be explained by the reduced socioeconomic status or IQ of the parent generation.