Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39984912›Full record

ArticleBMC medicine2025

Persistent impact of antenatal maternal anaemia on child brain structure at 6-7 years of age: a South African child health study.

Jessica E Ringshaw, Chanelle J Hendrikse, Catherine J Wedderburn, Layla E Bradford, Simone R Williams, Charmaine N Nyakonda, Sivenesi Subramoney, Marilyn T Lake, Tiffany Burd, Nadia Hoffman and 7 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing 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

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Jessica E RingshawDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. jess.ringshaw@uct.ac.za.
Chanelle J HendrikseDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Catherine J WedderburnDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Layla E BradfordDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Simone R WilliamsDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Charmaine N NyakondaDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Sivenesi SubramoneyDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Marilyn T LakeDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Tiffany BurdDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Nadia HoffmanDepartment of Psychiatry & Mental Health, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Annerine RoosNeuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Katherine L NarrDepartment of Neurology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA.
Shantanu H JoshiDepartment of Neurology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA.
Steven C R WilliamsCentre for Neuroimaging Sciences, Department of Neuroimaging, Kings College London, London, UK.
Heather J ZarDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Dan J Stein *Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Kirsten A Donald *Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. kirsty.donald@uct.ac.za.

Funding

Tracking and Prediction of Early Brain-Face Biomarkers of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure from Neonates to ChildrenR01AA026834 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI Kirsty Donald, Shantanu H. Joshi · 2018 to 2026
$3.8M
NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA026834
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThis study aimed to determine whether associations of antenatal maternal anaemia with smaller corpus callosum, caudate nucleus, and putamen volumes previously described in children at age 2-3 years persisted to age 6-7 years in the Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS).

methodsThis neuroimaging sub-study was nested within the DCHS, a South African population-based birth cohort. Pregnant women were enrolled (2012-2015) and mother-child dyads were followed prospectively. A sub-group of children had magnetic resonance imaging at 6-7 years of age (2018-2022). Mothers had haemoglobin measurements during pregnancy and a proportion of children were tested postnatally. Maternal anaemia (haemoglobin < 11 g/dL) and child anaemia were classified using WHO and local guidelines. Linear modeling was used to investigate associations between antenatal maternal anaemia status, maternal haemoglobin concentrations, and regional child brain volumes. Models included potential confounders and were conducted with and without child anaemia to assess the relative roles of antenatal versus postnatal anaemia.

resultsOverall, 157 children (Mean [SD] age of 75.54 [4.77] months; 84 [53.50%] male) were born to mothers with antenatal haemoglobin data. The prevalence of maternal anaemia during pregnancy was 31.85% (50/157). In adjusted models, maternal anaemia status was associated with smaller volumes of the total corpus callosum (adjusted percentage difference, - 6.77%; p = 0.003), left caudate nucleus (adjusted percentage difference, - 5.98%, p = 0.005), and right caudate nucleus (adjusted percentage difference, - 6.12%; p = 0.003). Continuous maternal haemoglobin was positively associated with total corpus callosum (β = 0.239 [CI 0.10 to 0.38]; p < 0.001) and caudate nucleus (β = 0.165 [CI 0.02 to 0.31]; p = 0.027) volumes. In a sub-group (n = 89) with child haemoglobin data (Mean [SD] age of 76.06 [4.84]), the prevalence of antenatal maternal anaemia and postnatal child anaemia was 38.20% (34/89) and 47.19% (42/89), respectively. There was no association between maternal and child anaemia (χ

conclusionsAssociations between maternal anaemia and regional child brain volumes previously reported at 2-3 years of age were consistent and persisted to 6-7 years of age. Findings support the importance of optimising antenatal maternal health and reinforce these brain regions as a future research focus.

Indexed as

AnemiaBrainPregnancy Complications, HematologicPrenatal Exposure Delayed EffectsAdultCaudate NucleusChildFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMalePregnancyProspective StudiesSouth AfricaAntenatal maternal anaemiaChild brain structureMagnetic resonance imagingNeurodevelopmentNeuroimaging

Identifiers

PMID39984912
PMCPMC11846184

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.