Cognitive function and skeletal size and mineral density at age 6-7 years: findings from the Southampton women’s survey
Cognitive function and skeletal size and mineral density at age 6-7 years: findings from the Southampton women’s survey
Introduction: poor cognitive function and osteoporosis commonly co-exist in later life. In women, this is often attributed to post-menopausal estrogen loss. However, a common early life origin for these conditions and the associations between cognitive function and bone mineral density (BMD) in childhood have not previously been explored. We examined these relationships at age 6–7 years in the Southampton Women's Survey (SWS) mother-offspring cohort.
Methods: child occipitofrontal circumference (OFC), a proxy for brain volume, intelligence quotient (IQ) [Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence] and visual recognition and working memory [CANTAB® Delayed Matching to Sample (DMS) and Spatial Span Length (SSP), respectively] were assessed. Whole-body-less-head (WBLH) and lumbar spine dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry [Hologic Discovery] (DXA) were performed to measure bone area (BA), bone mineral content (BMC), BMD and bone mineral apparent density (BMAD). Linear regression was used to examine associations between age and sex standardized variables (β represent standard deviation (SD) difference per SD of cognitive function).
Results: DXA was performed in 1331 children (mean (SD) age 6.8 (0.33) years, 51.5 % male), with OFC, IQ, DMS and SSP assessed in 1250, 551, 490 and 460, respectively. OFC (β = 0.25 SD/SD, 95%CI 0.20,0.30), IQ (β = 0.11 SD/SD, 95%CI 0.02,0.19), and DMS (β = 0.11, SD/SD, 95%CI 0.01,0.20) were positively associated with WBLH BA, with similar associations for lumbar spine BA. OFC and DMS were also positively associated with WBLH BMC, but only OFC was associated with BMD (WBLH: β = 0.38 SD/SD, 95%CI 0.33,0.43; LS: β = 0.19 SD/SD, 95%CI 0.13,0.24).
Conclusion: childhood brain volume was positively associated with measures of skeletal size and BMD, whereas IQ and memory were associated only with skeletal size. These findings suggest that common early life determinants for skeletal growth and BMD and cognitive function should be explored to identify potential early-life approaches to preventing osteoporosis and cognitive decline.
Bone mineral density, Cognition, Height, Intelligence quotient, Occipitofrontal circumference
Moon, Rebecca J.
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D'angelo, Stefania
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Crozier, Sarah R.
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Fernandes, Michelle
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Fall, Caroline
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Gale, Catharine R.
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Godfrey, Keith M.
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Davies, Justin H.
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Cooper, Cyrus
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Harvey, Nicholas C.
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May 2024
Moon, Rebecca J.
954fb3ed-9934-4649-886d-f65944985a6b
D'angelo, Stefania
13375ecd-1117-4b6e-99c0-32239f52eed6
Crozier, Sarah R.
9c3595ce-45b0-44fa-8c4c-4c555e628a03
Fernandes, Michelle
16d62e60-ae8e-455f-88d3-88e778253b4a
Fall, Caroline
7171a105-34f5-4131-89d7-1aa639893b18
Gale, Catharine R.
5bb2abb3-7b53-42d6-8aa7-817e193140c8
Godfrey, Keith M.
0931701e-fe2c-44b5-8f0d-ec5c7477a6fd
Davies, Justin H.
9f18fcad-f488-4c72-ac23-c154995443a9
Cooper, Cyrus
e05f5612-b493-4273-9b71-9e0ce32bdad6
Harvey, Nicholas C.
ce487fb4-d360-4aac-9d17-9466d6cba145
Moon, Rebecca J., D'angelo, Stefania, Crozier, Sarah R., Fernandes, Michelle, Fall, Caroline, Gale, Catharine R., Godfrey, Keith M., Davies, Justin H., Cooper, Cyrus and Harvey, Nicholas C.
(2024)
Cognitive function and skeletal size and mineral density at age 6-7 years: findings from the Southampton women’s survey.
Bone, 182, [117067].
(doi:10.1016/j.bone.2024.117067).
Abstract
Introduction: poor cognitive function and osteoporosis commonly co-exist in later life. In women, this is often attributed to post-menopausal estrogen loss. However, a common early life origin for these conditions and the associations between cognitive function and bone mineral density (BMD) in childhood have not previously been explored. We examined these relationships at age 6–7 years in the Southampton Women's Survey (SWS) mother-offspring cohort.
Methods: child occipitofrontal circumference (OFC), a proxy for brain volume, intelligence quotient (IQ) [Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence] and visual recognition and working memory [CANTAB® Delayed Matching to Sample (DMS) and Spatial Span Length (SSP), respectively] were assessed. Whole-body-less-head (WBLH) and lumbar spine dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry [Hologic Discovery] (DXA) were performed to measure bone area (BA), bone mineral content (BMC), BMD and bone mineral apparent density (BMAD). Linear regression was used to examine associations between age and sex standardized variables (β represent standard deviation (SD) difference per SD of cognitive function).
Results: DXA was performed in 1331 children (mean (SD) age 6.8 (0.33) years, 51.5 % male), with OFC, IQ, DMS and SSP assessed in 1250, 551, 490 and 460, respectively. OFC (β = 0.25 SD/SD, 95%CI 0.20,0.30), IQ (β = 0.11 SD/SD, 95%CI 0.02,0.19), and DMS (β = 0.11, SD/SD, 95%CI 0.01,0.20) were positively associated with WBLH BA, with similar associations for lumbar spine BA. OFC and DMS were also positively associated with WBLH BMC, but only OFC was associated with BMD (WBLH: β = 0.38 SD/SD, 95%CI 0.33,0.43; LS: β = 0.19 SD/SD, 95%CI 0.13,0.24).
Conclusion: childhood brain volume was positively associated with measures of skeletal size and BMD, whereas IQ and memory were associated only with skeletal size. These findings suggest that common early life determinants for skeletal growth and BMD and cognitive function should be explored to identify potential early-life approaches to preventing osteoporosis and cognitive decline.
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Accepted/In Press date: 1 March 2024
e-pub ahead of print date: 2 March 2024
Published date: May 2024
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Funding information:
This work was supported by grants from Medical Research Council (MRC) [MC_PC_21003; MC_PC_21001], British Heart Foundation, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, and the University of Oxford. The work leading to these results was supported by the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013), projects EarlyNutrition, ODIN and LifeCycle under grant agreements numbers 289346, 613977 and 733206, and by the BBSRC (HDHL-Biomarkers, BB/P028179/1), as part of the ALPHABET project, supported by an award made through the ERA-Net on Biomarkers for Nutrition and Health (ERA HDHL), Horizon 2020 grant agreement number 696295. KMG is supported by the UK Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12011/4), the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR Senior Investigator (NF-SI-0515-10042) and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre (IS-BRC-1215-20004)), the European Union (Erasmus+ Programme ImpENSA 598488-EPP-1-2018-1-DE-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP), British Heart Foundation (RG/15/17/3174, SP/F/21/150013) and the US National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (Award No. U24AG047867). RJM is funded by Health Education England (HEE)/NIHR for this research project. MF is funded by the MRC via a MRC Post-Doctoral Clinical Research Training Fellowship. For the purpose of Open Access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission.
For the purpose of Open Access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission.
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© 2024 The Authors
Keywords:
Bone mineral density, Cognition, Height, Intelligence quotient, Occipitofrontal circumference
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Local EPrints ID: 487791
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/487791
ISSN: 8756-3282
PURE UUID: 942ed0d7-9edd-4f4d-a7d3-a59cbfd96e96
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Date deposited: 05 Mar 2024 18:14
Last modified: 04 May 2024 02:02
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Author:
Rebecca J. Moon
Author:
Stefania D'angelo
Author:
Michelle Fernandes
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