ArticleBMC pediatrics2021
Trajectories of child cognitive development during ages 0-3 in rural Western China: prevalence, risk factors and links to preschool-age cognition.
Article in BMC pediatrics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Family ecological influences on early childhood development in Shanghai, China: a cross-sectional study.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- A systematic bibliometric and meta analysis of key factors and emerging AI and ML insights in shaping child cognitive development.Discover mental health · 2025Review
- Association of Serum Vitamin A and D Status with Neuropsychological Development Outcomes in Children Aged 4 to 24 Months: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.Iranian journal of public health · 2025Article
- Evaluating the Diagnostic and Concurrent Validity of the DREAM-IT in Mandarin-Speaking Toddlers With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Language Disorder.International journal of language & communication disordersArticle
- Identifying the Onset and Magnitude of Prediction From Early Cognitive Skills to Adult Socioeconomic Outcomes.Child developmentArticle
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCognitive development after age three tends to be stable and can therefore predict cognitive skills in later childhood. However, there is evidence that cognitive development is less stable before age three. In rural China, research has found large shares of children under age three are developmentally delayed, yet little is known about the trajectories of cognitive development between 0 and 3 years of age or how developmental trajectories predict later cognitive skills. This study seeks to describe the trajectories of child cognitive development between the ages of 0-3 years and examine how different trajectories predict cognitive development at preschool age.
methodsWe collected three waves of longitudinal panel data from 1245 children in rural Western China. Child cognitive development was measured by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development when the child was 6-12 months and 22-30 months, and by the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Fourth Edition when the child was 49-65 months. We used the two measures of cognitive development before age three to determine the trajectories of child cognitive development.
resultsOf the children, 39% were never cognitively delayed; 13% were persistently delayed; 7% experienced improving cognitive development; and 41% experienced deteriorating development before age 3. Compared to children who had never experienced cognitive delay, children with persistent cognitive delay and those with deteriorating development before age 3 had significantly lower cognitive scores at preschool age. Children with improving development before age 3 showed similar levels of cognition at preschool age as children who had never experienced cognitive delay.
conclusionsLarge shares of children under age 3 in rural Western China show deteriorating cognitive development from infancy to toddlerhood, which predict lower levels of cognition at preschool age. Policymakers should invest in improving cognitive development before age 3 to prevent long-term poor cognition among China's rural children.
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