ArticleInternational journal of epidemiology2011
The effect of birthweight on childhood cognitive development in a middle-income country.
Article in International journal of epidemiology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed.
- Anthropometric differences between twins at birth and their association with later cognitive performance.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2026Article
- The contribution of health and health systems to other sustainable development goals. An overview of the evidence on co-benefits.Health policy (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2025Review
- Social determinants impact both viral infections and brain development.Pediatric research · 2025Review
- Autism Observation Scale for Infants: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis in Samples at Increased Likelihood of Autism Spectrum Disorders.Review journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Review
- Exploring the Fetal Origins Hypothesis Using Genetic Data.Social forces; a scientific medium of social study and interpretation · 2024Article
- Socioeconomic differences in the long-term effects of teacher absence on student outcomes.European societies · 2024Article
- Prenatal tobacco exposure associations with physical health and neurodevelopment in the ABCD cohort.Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2023Article
- Preterm Birth and Other Measures of Infant Biological Vulnerability: Associations with Maternal Sensitivity and Infant Cognitive Development.Maternal and child health journal · 2023Article
- Physical growth and intelligence development of discordant dizygotic twins from birth to preschool age: a prospective cohort study.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2022Article
- The association between birth weight and proxy-reported health-related quality of life among children aged 5 - 10 years old: A linked data analysis.BMC pediatrics · 2021Article
- Gestational Age, Birth Weight, and Neurocognitive Development in Adolescents in Tanzania.The Journal of pediatrics · 2021Article
- The children of the missed pill.Journal of health economics · 2021Article
- Size at birth and cognitive function among rural adolescents: a life course epidemiology study protocol of the Kisalaya cohort in Mysuru, South India.BMJ paediatrics open · 2020Article
- Household food insecurity and early childhood development: Longitudinal evidence from Ghana.PloS one · 2020Article
- Is the effect of ill health on school achievement among Swedish adolescents gendered?SSM - population health · 2019Article
- Article
- Effect of childhood coeliac disease on ninth grade school performance: evidence from a population-based study.Archives of disease in childhood · 2018Article
- Article
- Metabolomic signatures of low birthweight: Pathways to insulin resistance and oxidative stress.PloS one · 2018Article
- Influences of early child nutritional status and home learning environment on child development in Vietnam.Maternal & child nutrition · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIntra-uterine growth is a powerful predictor of infant mortality and of health, developmental and socioeconomic outcomes in adulthood. The question about whether this relationship is causal rather than driven by unobserved characteristics of low-weight infants is, however, still open. We use twin models to examine the hypothesis that in utero growth has a detrimental impact on cognitive development in childhood.
methodsWe merge birth registry information on birthweight with standardized Math and Spanish test scores for all fourth graders in Chile to create a prospective data set. Twin fixed-effects models are used to estimate the causal effect of intra-uterine growth on test scores. Fixed-effect estimates are compared with traditional regression results in a cross-section of births to gauge the omitted variable bias emerging from unobserved genetic, maternal and pregnancy-related factors in cross-sectional models.
resultsBirthweight differences within twin pairs have a substantial effect on test scores. A 400-g increase in birthweight results in a 15% standard deviation increase in Math scores. The effect is larger among (estimated) monozygotic than dizygotic pairs, reaching >20% standard deviation. The effect varies across family socioeconomic status. It is strong among disadvantaged families but it nearly disappears among advantaged ones.
conclusionScarcity of uterine resources resulting in intra-uterine growth restriction has a detrimental effect on cognitive development in childhood. This effect interacts with family socioeconomic status (SES), so that low-SES families reinforce the effect of low birthweight and high-SES families fully compensate for it. Findings are particularly relevant in the developing world, where intra-uterine growth restriction is the main determinant of low birthweight.
Indexed as
Identifiers
21362701What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.