Lifetime affective problems and later-life cognitive state: Over 50 years of follow-up in a British birth cohort study

ObjectivesThe life course determinants of midlife and later life cognitive function have been studied using longitudinal population-based cohort data, but far less is known about whether the pattern of these pathways is similar or distinct for clinically relevant cognitive state. We investigated this for Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination third edition (ACE-III), used in clinical settings to screen for cognitive impairment and dementia.DesignLongitudinal birth cohort study.SettingResidential addresses in England, Wales and Scotland.Participants1762 community-dwelling men and women of European heritage, enrolled since birth in the Medical Research Council (MRC) National Survey of Health and Development (the British 1946 birth cohort).Primary outcomeACE-III.ResultsPath modelling estimated direct and indirect associations between apolipoprotein E (APOE) status, father’s social class, childhood cognition, education, midlife occupational complexity, midlife verbal ability (National Adult Reading Test; NART), and the total ACE-III score. Controlling for sex, there was a direct negative association betweenAPOEε4 and the ACE-III score (β=−0.04 [–0.08 to –0.002], p=0.04), but not betweenAPOEε4 and childhood cognition (β=0.03 [–0.006 to 0.069], p=0.10) or the NART (β=0.0005 [–0.03 to 0.03], p=0.97). The strongest influences on the ACE-III were from childhood cognition (β=0.20 [0.14 to 0.26], p<0.001) and the NART (β=0.35 [0.29 to 0.41], p<0.001); educational attainment and occupational complexity were modestly and independently associated with the ACE-III (β=0.08 [0.03 to 0.14], p=0.002 and β=0.05 [0.01 to 0.10], p=0.02, respectively).ConclusionsThe ACE-III in the general population shows a pattern of life course antecedents that is similar to neuropsychological measures of cognitive function, and may be used to represent normal cognitive ageing as well as a screen for cognitive impairment and dementia.

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Size at birth and height in early adolescence: a prospective birth cohort study

Cadernos de Saúde Pública ◽

10.1590/s0102-311x2008000400018 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 871-878 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Cora L. P. Araújo ◽

Pedro C. Hallal ◽

Gisele A. Nader ◽

Ana Maria B. Menezes ◽

Cesar G. Victora

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Birth Cohort ◽

Early Adolescence ◽

Strong Predictor ◽

Birth Length ◽

Birth Cohort Study ◽

Size At Birth ◽

Prospective Birth Cohort ◽

Prospective Birth Cohort Study

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between size at birth (birthweight and birth length) and height in early adolescence in a prospective birth cohort study in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Interviews were carried out in 1993, including measurements of birthweight and length, and in 2004-2005, including measurements of weight and height. This analysis includes 4,452 individuals, with a mean age of 11.3 years (standard deviation - SD = 0.3), representing a follow-up rate of 87.5%. Mean height at 11 years was 145.8 cm (SD = 7.9), or 144.9 cm (SD = 7.7) in boys and 146.8 cm (SD = 7.9) in girls. Birthweight and birth length were positively associated with height in early adolescence in the crude analysis, but after adjustment for confounding and for each other, only the effect of birth length was still significant. A one z-score increase in birth length was associated with a 1.63 cm increase in height at 11 years. The present study shows that birth length is a strong predictor of later height, while the effect of birth weight disappears after adjustment for birth length.

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