Preterm birth, socioeconomic status, and white matter development across childhood

Preterm birth and socioeconomic status (SES) are associated with brain development in early life, but the contribution of each over time is uncertain. We examined the effects of gestational age (GA) and SES on white matter microstructure in the neonatal period and at five years. Participants included preterm and term children. Diffusion MRI was collected at term-equivalent age (n = 153 preterm, n = 90 term [127/243 female]) and from a subset at five years (n = 26 preterm, n = 32 term [22/58 female]). We assessed linear associations of GA, SES (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation [SIMD] and maternal education), and GA×SES interactions on fractional anisotropy (FA) using tract-based spatial statistics. We compared the proportion of voxels with significant associations between timepoints. In preterm neonates, higher GA and higher maternal education, but not SIMD, were associated with higher FA (p corrected for family-wise error rate, p<sub>FWER</sub> < 0.05). GA-FA associations depended on maternal education and SIMD (β =|0.001-0.005|, p < 0.001). At five years, the strength and direction of GA-FA associations depended on SIMD (β =|0.013-0.028|, p < 0.001), but not maternal education. In term infants, lower SES was associated with higher FA at the neonatal timepoint only (p<sub>FWER</sub> < 0.05). Preterm birth and SES both shape brain development at birth and continue to do so at five years. The SES measure most strongly associated with FA in preterm infants switches from a family-level (i.e. maternal education) to neighborhood-level (i.e. SIMD) measure between birth and five years, which suggests strategies to mitigate adverse effects of social inequalities on development may require adaptation as children grow.

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Publication Details

Journal
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Published
2025-11-08
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101643
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.72
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article

Preterm birth, socioeconomic status, and white matter development across childhood

Hilary Richardson, Yu Wei Chua, Alan J. Quigley, Donna McIntyre et al.
2 citations
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
2.72
article

Preterm birth, socioeconomic status, and white matter development across childhood

Hilary Richardson, Yu Wei Chua, Alan J. Quigley, Donna McIntyre, Michael J. Thrippleton, Lorena Jiménez‐Sánchez, Mark E. Bastin, Cheryl Battersby, Manuel Blesa, Melissa Thye, Gemma Sullivan, Rebekah Smikle, Kadi Vaher, James P. Boardman, Gayle Barclay, Amy Corrigan, Simon R. Cox, Athanasios Tsanas, G. David Batty, S. M. Abel, J. Skelton, K. I. M. McKinnon, Charlotte Jardine, Rebecca M. Reynolds, Heather C. Whalley, Iona Hamilton, Ray Amir
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Preterm birth and socioeconomic status (SES) are associated with brain development in early life, but the contribution of each over time is uncertain. We examined the effects of gestational age (GA) and SES on white matter microstructure in the neonatal period and at five years. Participants included preterm and term children. Diffusion MRI was collected at term-equivalent age (n = 153 preterm, n = 90 term [127/243 female]) and from a subset at five years (n = 26 preterm, n = 32 term [22/58 female]). We assessed linear associations of GA, SES (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation [SIMD] and maternal education), and GA×SES interactions on fractional anisotropy (FA) using tract-based spatial statistics. We compared the proportion of voxels with significant associations between timepoints. In preterm neonates, higher GA and higher maternal education, but not SIMD, were associated with higher FA (p corrected for family-wise error rate, p<sub>FWER</sub> < 0.05). GA-FA associations depended on maternal education and SIMD (β =|0.001-0.005|, p < 0.001). At five years, the strength and direction of GA-FA associations depended on SIMD (β =|0.013-0.028|, p < 0.001), but not maternal education. In term infants, lower SES was associated with higher FA at the neonatal timepoint only (p<sub>FWER</sub> < 0.05). Preterm birth and SES both shape brain development at birth and continue to do so at five years. The SES measure most strongly associated with FA in preterm infants switches from a family-level (i.e. maternal education) to neighborhood-level (i.e. SIMD) measure between birth and five years, which suggests strategies to mitigate adverse effects of social inequalities on development may require adaptation as children grow.

Developmental Cognitive NeuroscienceVol. 77
Turing Institute (GB), NHS Lothian (GB), Royal Hospital for Children (GB), Edinburgh Royal Infirmary (GB), MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine (GB), MRC Centre for Reproductive Health (GB), The Queen's Medical Research Institute (GB), University College London (GB), Imperial College London (GB), University of Edinburgh (GB)
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
2.72
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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