People who give birth to babies who weigh less than 5.5 pounds may be more likely to have memory and thinking problems later in life than people who give birth to babies who are not low birth weight, study finds published June 12, 2024. , online edition of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The effect on memory and thinking skills was equivalent to one to two years of aging for those born with low birth weight.
The study does not prove that giving birth to a low-birth-weight baby causes memory and thinking problems. It only shows an association.
“Previous research has shown that people who have had a low birth weight delivery have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure,” said study author Diana C. Soria-Contreras, PhD, of the School of Sciences. Harvard’s TH Chan Publications. Health in Boston, Massachusetts. “Our study found that a history of having had a low birth weight child may also be a marker of worse cognition later in life.”
15,323 women participated in the study with an average age of 62 years at the end of the thinking and memory tests. All participants had at least one birth. Of the total participants, 1,224 people, or 8%, had a history of low-weight birth. Low birth weight was defined as less than 5.5 pounds in pregnancies that lasted more than 20 weeks.
Participants completed a questionnaire about pregnancy complications, birth outcomes, birth weight and other information.
They also completed a series of thinking and memory tests.
The researchers then combined the average scores from the two tests of participants’ memory and ability to respond quickly and accurately to a situation, as well as the two tests of learning and working memory. Higher scores indicated better memory and thinking. On average, the difference in scores between those with and without a low birth weight was -0.06 for the speed and attention tests and -0.05 for learning and working memory. This is comparable to the difference associated with one or two additional years of age in this population.
The results were similar after the researchers adjusted for factors that could affect both birth weight and cognitive function, such as age, smoking and high blood pressure. The results were also similar when the researchers did not include people with preterm births, twin or other multiple pregnancies, or those affected by pregnancy-related high blood pressure disorders.
Additionally, they found that the more low-weight births people had, the lower their scores.
“Future research is needed to confirm our findings and look at whether screening women with a history of low birth weight births for cognitive problems and taking steps to promote their brain health could help prevent or delay cognitive decline and dementia in the future”. Soria Contreras said.
A limitation of the study is that the majority of participants were non-Hispanic white people, so the results may not be generalizable to other populations.
The study was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Institute on Aging and the Office of Women’s Health Research.