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Early life origins cognitive decline: findings in elderly men in the Helsinki birth cohort study

Early life origins cognitive decline: findings in elderly men in the Helsinki birth cohort study
Early life origins cognitive decline: findings in elderly men in the Helsinki birth cohort study
OBJECTIVES: To examine whether the adverse effects of slow prenatal and postnatal growth on cognitive function persist to old age and predict age related cognitive decline.

DESIGN AND SETTING: A longitudinal birth cohort study of men born in Helsinki, Finland 1934-44.

PARTICIPANTS: Nine-hundred-thirty-one men of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study, with detailed data on growth from birth to adulthood, aged 20.1 (SD = 1.4) at the first and 67.9 (SD = 2.5) years at the second cognitive testing.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Finnish Defense Forces Basic Intellectual Ability Test assessed twice over nearly five decades apart.

RESULTS: Lower weight, length and head circumference at birth were associated with lower cognitive ability at 67.9 years (1.04-1.55 points lower ability per each standard deviation [SD] unit decrease in body size, 95% Confidence Interval [95%CI]: 0.05 to 2.72) and with cognitive decline after 20.1 years (0.07-0.11 SD decline over time per each SD decrease in body size, 95%CI:0.00 to 0.19). Men who were born larger were more likely to perform better in the cognitive ability test over time (1.22-1.43 increase in odds to remain in the top relative to the lower two thirds in ability over time per each SD increase in body size, 95%CI:1.04 to 1.79) and were more resilient to cognitive decline after 20.1 years (0.69 to 0.76 decrease in odds to decline from than remain in the top third of ability over time per each SD increase in body size, 95%CI:0.49 to 0.99). Slower growth between birth and two years in weight, height and body mass index was associated with lower cognitive ability at 67.9 years, but not with cognitive decline.

CONCLUSIONS: Poorer lifetime cognitive ability is predicted by slower growth before and after birth. In predicting resilience to age related cognitive decline, the period before birth seems to be more critical.
1932-6203
e54707
Raikkonen, Katri
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Kajantie, Eero
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Pesonen, Anu-Katrina
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Heinonen, Kati
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Alastalo, Hanna
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Leskinen, Jukka T.
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Nyman, Kai
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Henriksson, Markus
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Lahti, Jan
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Lahti, Marius
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Pyhala, Riikka
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Tuovinen, Soile
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Osmond, Clive
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Barker, David J. P.
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Eriksson, Johan G.
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Raikkonen, Katri
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Kajantie, Eero
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Pesonen, Anu-Katrina
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Heinonen, Kati
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Alastalo, Hanna
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Leskinen, Jukka T.
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Nyman, Kai
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Henriksson, Markus
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Lahti, Jan
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Lahti, Marius
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Pyhala, Riikka
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Tuovinen, Soile
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Osmond, Clive
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Barker, David J. P.
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Eriksson, Johan G.
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Raikkonen, Katri, Kajantie, Eero, Pesonen, Anu-Katrina, Heinonen, Kati, Alastalo, Hanna, Leskinen, Jukka T., Nyman, Kai, Henriksson, Markus, Lahti, Jan, Lahti, Marius, Pyhala, Riikka, Tuovinen, Soile, Osmond, Clive, Barker, David J. P. and Eriksson, Johan G. (2013) Early life origins cognitive decline: findings in elderly men in the Helsinki birth cohort study. PLoS ONE, 8 (1), e54707. (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0054707). (PMID:23382945)

Record type: Article

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To examine whether the adverse effects of slow prenatal and postnatal growth on cognitive function persist to old age and predict age related cognitive decline.

DESIGN AND SETTING: A longitudinal birth cohort study of men born in Helsinki, Finland 1934-44.

PARTICIPANTS: Nine-hundred-thirty-one men of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study, with detailed data on growth from birth to adulthood, aged 20.1 (SD = 1.4) at the first and 67.9 (SD = 2.5) years at the second cognitive testing.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Finnish Defense Forces Basic Intellectual Ability Test assessed twice over nearly five decades apart.

RESULTS: Lower weight, length and head circumference at birth were associated with lower cognitive ability at 67.9 years (1.04-1.55 points lower ability per each standard deviation [SD] unit decrease in body size, 95% Confidence Interval [95%CI]: 0.05 to 2.72) and with cognitive decline after 20.1 years (0.07-0.11 SD decline over time per each SD decrease in body size, 95%CI:0.00 to 0.19). Men who were born larger were more likely to perform better in the cognitive ability test over time (1.22-1.43 increase in odds to remain in the top relative to the lower two thirds in ability over time per each SD increase in body size, 95%CI:1.04 to 1.79) and were more resilient to cognitive decline after 20.1 years (0.69 to 0.76 decrease in odds to decline from than remain in the top third of ability over time per each SD increase in body size, 95%CI:0.49 to 0.99). Slower growth between birth and two years in weight, height and body mass index was associated with lower cognitive ability at 67.9 years, but not with cognitive decline.

CONCLUSIONS: Poorer lifetime cognitive ability is predicted by slower growth before and after birth. In predicting resilience to age related cognitive decline, the period before birth seems to be more critical.

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Published date: 30 January 2013
Organisations: Faculty of Health Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 350445
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/350445
ISSN: 1932-6203
PURE UUID: dcdea7b8-d9d9-4493-ac15-660ec878589d
ORCID for Clive Osmond: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-9054-4655

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Date deposited: 27 Mar 2013 11:52
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 02:50

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Contributors

Author: Katri Raikkonen
Author: Eero Kajantie
Author: Anu-Katrina Pesonen
Author: Kati Heinonen
Author: Hanna Alastalo
Author: Jukka T. Leskinen
Author: Kai Nyman
Author: Markus Henriksson
Author: Jan Lahti
Author: Marius Lahti
Author: Riikka Pyhala
Author: Soile Tuovinen
Author: Clive Osmond ORCID iD
Author: David J. P. Barker
Author: Johan G. Eriksson

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