Birth weight for gestational age at term and school performance at 12 years of age: linked cohort study

R J Burger; S J Gordijn; B W Mol; W Ganzevoort; A C J Ravelli

doi:10.1002/uog.26160

Birth weight for gestational age at term and school performance at 12 years of age: linked cohort study

R J Burger^* (Corresponding Author), S J Gordijn, B W Mol, W Ganzevoort, A C J Ravelli

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

2 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Birth weight and underlying fetal growth and placental function impact cognitive development. The gradient of these associations is under-studied, especially among those with a birth weight considered appropriate for gestational age. We aim to provide insight in the associations between birth-weight centile and intellectual development across the entire birth-weight spectrum of (near) term infants, serving as a basis for better understanding of the long-term implications of fetal growth restriction and reduced placental function.

METHODS: We conducted a population-based cohort study among liveborn singletons born from uncomplicated pregnancies (N=266,440) from 36 weeks onwards using perinatal data from the Dutch Perinatal Registry (2003-2008) and education data at age 12 from Statistics Netherlands (2016-2019). Regression analyses were conducted investigating the association of birth weight for gestational age with school performance. The main outcome was mean school performance score and higher secondary school level.

RESULTS: Mean school performance score (range 501-550) increased gradually with increasing birth-weight centile from 533.6 (<5 th birth-weight centile) to 536.8 (81-85 th birth-weight centile). Higher secondary school level increased from 42.9% to 56.8% with increasing birth-weight centile. Compared to the 81-85 th birth-weight centile, mean school performance score and the proportion of children that reached higher secondary school level were significantly and gradually lower in all birth-weight centile groups below the 80th centile, adjusted for confounding factors.

CONCLUSIONS: Birth weight for gestational age is positively and gradually associated with school performance at age 12 across the entire spectrum, well beyond the conventional and arbitrary cut-offs for suspected fetal growth restriction. It underlines the importance of better tools to diagnose fetal growth restriction and reduced placental function and to identify those at risk for associated short and long-term consequences. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	458-465
Number of pages	7
Journal	Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology
Volume	61
Issue number	4
Early online date	11 Mar 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/uog.26160
Publication status	Published - 3 Apr 2023

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from Statistics Netherlands and Perined. Restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for this study. Statistics Netherlands has a policy on microdata sharing and analysis described online. Permission for analysis of perinatal registry data (Perined) is described on their website. Study protocol and statistical analyses plan can be made available on request.

Keywords

birth weight
Cognitive Development
educational achievement
fetal growth restriction
gestational age
placental function
Placental Insufficiency
SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

Access to Document

10.1002/uog.26160Licence: CC BY

Burger_etal_UiO_Birth‐weight_centile_at_VOR
© 2023 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Final published version, 407 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Burger, R. J., Gordijn, S. J., Mol, B. W., Ganzevoort, W., & Ravelli, A. C. J. (2023). Birth weight for gestational age at term and school performance at 12 years of age: linked cohort study. Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 61(4), 458-465. https://doi.org/10.1002/uog.26160

Birth weight for gestational age at term and school performance at 12 years of age: linked cohort study. / Burger, R J (Corresponding Author); Gordijn, S J; Mol, B W et al.
In: Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol. 61, No. 4, 03.04.2023, p. 458-465.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Burger, RJ, Gordijn, SJ, Mol, BW, Ganzevoort, W & Ravelli, ACJ 2023, 'Birth weight for gestational age at term and school performance at 12 years of age: linked cohort study', Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, vol. 61, no. 4, pp. 458-465. https://doi.org/10.1002/uog.26160

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abstract = "OBJECTIVES: Birth weight and underlying fetal growth and placental function impact cognitive development. The gradient of these associations is under-studied, especially among those with a birth weight considered appropriate for gestational age. We aim to provide insight in the associations between birth-weight centile and intellectual development across the entire birth-weight spectrum of (near) term infants, serving as a basis for better understanding of the long-term implications of fetal growth restriction and reduced placental function.METHODS: We conducted a population-based cohort study among liveborn singletons born from uncomplicated pregnancies (N=266,440) from 36 weeks onwards using perinatal data from the Dutch Perinatal Registry (2003-2008) and education data at age 12 from Statistics Netherlands (2016-2019). Regression analyses were conducted investigating the association of birth weight for gestational age with school performance. The main outcome was mean school performance score and higher secondary school level.RESULTS: Mean school performance score (range 501-550) increased gradually with increasing birth-weight centile from 533.6 (<5 th birth-weight centile) to 536.8 (81-85 th birth-weight centile). Higher secondary school level increased from 42.9% to 56.8% with increasing birth-weight centile. Compared to the 81-85 th birth-weight centile, mean school performance score and the proportion of children that reached higher secondary school level were significantly and gradually lower in all birth-weight centile groups below the 80th centile, adjusted for confounding factors. CONCLUSIONS: Birth weight for gestational age is positively and gradually associated with school performance at age 12 across the entire spectrum, well beyond the conventional and arbitrary cut-offs for suspected fetal growth restriction. It underlines the importance of better tools to diagnose fetal growth restriction and reduced placental function and to identify those at risk for associated short and long-term consequences. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.",

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T1 - Birth weight for gestational age at term and school performance at 12 years of age

T2 - linked cohort study

AU - Burger, R J

AU - Gordijn, S J

AU - Mol, B W

AU - Ganzevoort, W

AU - Ravelli, A C J

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N2 - OBJECTIVES: Birth weight and underlying fetal growth and placental function impact cognitive development. The gradient of these associations is under-studied, especially among those with a birth weight considered appropriate for gestational age. We aim to provide insight in the associations between birth-weight centile and intellectual development across the entire birth-weight spectrum of (near) term infants, serving as a basis for better understanding of the long-term implications of fetal growth restriction and reduced placental function.METHODS: We conducted a population-based cohort study among liveborn singletons born from uncomplicated pregnancies (N=266,440) from 36 weeks onwards using perinatal data from the Dutch Perinatal Registry (2003-2008) and education data at age 12 from Statistics Netherlands (2016-2019). Regression analyses were conducted investigating the association of birth weight for gestational age with school performance. The main outcome was mean school performance score and higher secondary school level.RESULTS: Mean school performance score (range 501-550) increased gradually with increasing birth-weight centile from 533.6 (<5 th birth-weight centile) to 536.8 (81-85 th birth-weight centile). Higher secondary school level increased from 42.9% to 56.8% with increasing birth-weight centile. Compared to the 81-85 th birth-weight centile, mean school performance score and the proportion of children that reached higher secondary school level were significantly and gradually lower in all birth-weight centile groups below the 80th centile, adjusted for confounding factors. CONCLUSIONS: Birth weight for gestational age is positively and gradually associated with school performance at age 12 across the entire spectrum, well beyond the conventional and arbitrary cut-offs for suspected fetal growth restriction. It underlines the importance of better tools to diagnose fetal growth restriction and reduced placental function and to identify those at risk for associated short and long-term consequences. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

AB - OBJECTIVES: Birth weight and underlying fetal growth and placental function impact cognitive development. The gradient of these associations is under-studied, especially among those with a birth weight considered appropriate for gestational age. We aim to provide insight in the associations between birth-weight centile and intellectual development across the entire birth-weight spectrum of (near) term infants, serving as a basis for better understanding of the long-term implications of fetal growth restriction and reduced placental function.METHODS: We conducted a population-based cohort study among liveborn singletons born from uncomplicated pregnancies (N=266,440) from 36 weeks onwards using perinatal data from the Dutch Perinatal Registry (2003-2008) and education data at age 12 from Statistics Netherlands (2016-2019). Regression analyses were conducted investigating the association of birth weight for gestational age with school performance. The main outcome was mean school performance score and higher secondary school level.RESULTS: Mean school performance score (range 501-550) increased gradually with increasing birth-weight centile from 533.6 (<5 th birth-weight centile) to 536.8 (81-85 th birth-weight centile). Higher secondary school level increased from 42.9% to 56.8% with increasing birth-weight centile. Compared to the 81-85 th birth-weight centile, mean school performance score and the proportion of children that reached higher secondary school level were significantly and gradually lower in all birth-weight centile groups below the 80th centile, adjusted for confounding factors. CONCLUSIONS: Birth weight for gestational age is positively and gradually associated with school performance at age 12 across the entire spectrum, well beyond the conventional and arbitrary cut-offs for suspected fetal growth restriction. It underlines the importance of better tools to diagnose fetal growth restriction and reduced placental function and to identify those at risk for associated short and long-term consequences. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

KW - birth weight

KW - Cognitive Development

KW - educational achievement

KW - fetal growth restriction

KW - gestational age

KW - placental function

KW - Placental Insufficiency

KW - SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

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DO - 10.1002/uog.26160

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C2 - 36647332

SN - 0960-7692

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JO - Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology

JF - Ultrasound in obstetrics & gynecology : the official journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology

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