Objective: Very preterm (<32 weeks gestation; VP) and/or very low birth weight (<1500g; VLBW) children often have cognitive and mathematic difficulties. It is unknown whether VP/VLBW children's frequent mathematic problems significantly add to the burden of negative life-course consequences over and above effects of more general cognitive deficits. Our aim was to determine whether negative consequences of VP/VLBW versus healthy term birth on adult wealth are mediated by mathematic abilities in childhood, or rather explained by more general cognitive abilities.
Methods: 193 VP/VLBW and 217 healthy term comparison participants were studied prospectively from birth to adulthood as part of a geographically defined study in Bavaria (South Germany). Mathematic and general cognitive abilities were assessed at 8 years with standardized tests; wealth information was assessed at 26 years with a structured interview and summarized into a comprehensive index score. All scores were z-standardized.
Results: At 8 years, VP/VLBW (n = 193, 52.3% male) had lower mathematic and general cognitive abilities than healthy term comparison children (n = 217, 47.0% male). At 26 years, VP/VLBW had accumulated significantly lower overall wealth than term born comparison adults (-0.57 (1.08) versus -0.01 (1.00), mean difference 0.56 [0.36-0.77], p < .001). Structural equation modeling confirmed that VP/VLBW birth (β = -.13, p = .022) and childhood IQ (β = .24, p < .001) both directly predicted adult wealth, but math did not (β = .05, p = .413). Analyses were controlled for small-for-gestational-age (SGA) birth, child sex, and family socioeconomic status.
Conclusion: This longitudinal study from birth to adulthood shows that VP/VLBW survivors' general cognitive rather than specific mathematic problems explain their diminished life-course success. These findings are important in order to design effective interventions at school age that reduce the burden of prematurity for those individuals who were born at highest neonatal risk.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6415831 | PMC |
| http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0212789 | PLOS |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Impact of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Cognitive Outcomes in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review.
Cureus
March 2025
Internal Medicine, Dr. VRK Women's Medical College, Hyderabad, IND.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is defined as a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by a set of deficits not limited to social communication, which is restricted and repetitive behaviors. The prevalence of autism has been seen to be consistently increasing globally. Autism is multifactorial in its etiology, and it involves several physiological systems, including the central nervous system and the gut-brain axis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Blood-based biomarkers (BBBMs), including plasma amyloid beta (Aβ) or phosphorylated tau (p-tau), combined with apolipoprotein E () testing, are anticipated to serve as prescreening tools before amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) for recruiting participants for Alzheimer's disease (AD) prevention studies. The predictive efficacy and cost-effectiveness of prescreening may vary with different testing combinations, sequences, and cutoff levels.
Methods: We conducted a simulation study utilizing data from our ongoing Japanese Trial-Ready Cohort (J-TRC) onsite study ( = 202) recruited online.
Overconfident, but angry at least. AI-Based investigation of facial emotional expressions and self-assessment bias in human adults.
BMC Psychol
March 2025
Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
Metacognition and facial emotional expressions both play a major role in human social interactions [1, 2] as inner narrative and primary communicational display, and both are limited by self-monitoring, control and their interaction with personal and social reference frames. The study aims to investigate how metacognitive abilities relate to facial emotional expressions, as the inner narrative of a subject might project subconsciously and primes facial emotional expressions in a non-social setting. Subjects were presented online to a set of digitalised short-term memory tasks and attended a screening of artistic and artificial stimuli, where their facial emotional expressions were recorded and analyzed by artificial intelligence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) and inhibitory control training for excess weight treatment: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial (InhibE).
BMC Psychol
March 2025
Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center (CIMCYC), University of Granada, Granada, 18070, Spain.
Background: The prevalence of excess weight has increased globally. Despite interventions include targeted goals on essential aspects such as physical activity and diet, their long-term effectiveness remains limited. Research highlights that eating behaviour is influenced by impulsive processes, especially in the context of a food-rich environment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFighting against self-stigma in adults with self-reported diagnosis of OCD: A single-arm pilot study using a mobile app-based intervention.
Br J Clin Psychol
March 2025
Departamento de Personalidad, Evaluación y Tratamientos Psicológicos, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain.
Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disabling disorder, and self-stigma negatively impacts quality of life, symptom severity and self-esteem. esTOCma is a smartphone-based serious game developed to increase knowledge about OCD and reduce stigma. It features 10 missions using psychoeducation, indirect contact and cognitive restructuring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!