Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32751096›Full record

SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2020

A Meta-Analysis of Stressors from the Total Environment Associated with Children's General Cognitive Ability.

Frances M Nilsen, Jazmin D C Ruiz, Nicolle S Tulve

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. The effect of the "exposome" on developmental brain health and cognitive outcomes.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. A Benchmark Dose Analysis for Maternal Pregnancy Urine-Fluoride and IQ in Children.Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis · 2022
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Frances M NilsenOffice of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC 27709, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4193-6951
Jazmin D C RuizOffice of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC 27709, USA.
Nicolle S TulveOffice of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC 27709, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

General cognitive ability, often referred to as 'general intelligence', comprises a variety of correlated abilities. Childhood general cognitive ability is a well-studied area of research and can be used to predict social outcomes and perceived success. Early life stage (e.g., prenatal, postnatal, toddler) exposures to stressors (i.e., chemical and non-chemical stressors from the total (built, natural, social) environment) can impact the development of childhood cognitive ability. Building from our systematic scoping review (Ruiz et al., 2016), we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate more than 100 stressors related to cognitive development. Our meta-analysis identified 23 stressors with a significant increase in their likelihood to influence childhood cognitive ability by 10% or more, and 80 stressors were observed to have a statistically significant effect on cognitive ability. Stressors most impactful to cognition during the prenatal period were related to maternal health and the mother's ability to access information relevant to a healthy pregnancy (e.g., diet, lifestyle). Stressors most impactful to cognition during the early childhood period were dietary nutrients (infancy), quality of social interaction (toddler), and exposure to toxic substances (throughout early childhood). In conducting this analysis, we examined the relative impact of real-world exposures on cognitive development to attempt to understand the inter-relationships between exposures to both chemical and non-chemical stressors and early developmental life stages. Our findings suggest that the stressors observed to be the most influential to childhood cognitive ability are not permanent and can be broadly categorized as activities/behaviors which can be modified to improve childhood cognition. This meta-analysis supports the idea that there are complex relationships between a child's total environment and early cognitive development.

Indexed as

CognitionChildChild, PreschoolDietFamilyHumansInfant, NewbornInterpersonal RelationsStress, Physiologicalchemicalchildrencognitiondevelopmentenvironmental healthnon-chemicalrisk factors

Identifiers

PMID32751096
PMCPMC7432904

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.