Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42886482›Full record

ArticleJAMA network open2026

Preterm Risk Factors, Epigenetic Age, and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes.

Rhandi Christensen, Chaini Konwar, Beryl C Zhuang, Julia MacIsaac, Vann Chau, Mehmet N Cizmeci, Linh G Ly, Ting Guo, Helen Branson, Michael S Kobor and 2 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in JAMA network open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

12 authors.

Rhandi ChristensenDepartment of Paediatrics, University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Chaini KonwarDepartment of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Beryl C ZhuangDepartment of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Julia MacIsaacDepartment of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Vann ChauDepartment of Paediatrics, University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Mehmet N CizmeciDepartment of Paediatrics, University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Linh G LyDepartment of Paediatrics, University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Ting GuoDepartment of Paediatrics, University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Helen BransonDepartment of Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Michael S KoborDepartment of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Ruth E GrunauBC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Steven P MillerBC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Importance: Studies examining biological factors associated with neurodevelopment in the preterm population are limited. It was previously demonstrated that epigenetic age acceleration was associated with better neurodevelopmental outcomes among children born preterm. It is unclear whether this association is modified by clinical and environmental preterm risk factors. Objective: To examine whether the association between epigenetic aging and neurodevelopmental outcomes is modified by preterm brain injury and socioeconomic status. Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a prospective cohort study of children born at 24 to 32 weeks' gestation, recruited from 2 neonatal intensive care units from 2015 to 2019 and followed up to January 2026. The cohort was well characterized with clinical data, brain magnetic resonance imaging, and neurodevelopmental assessments (Bayley-III cognitive and motor domains) at 3 years. Participants with buccal epithelial cell DNA collected at 3 years were included. Exposure: Epigenetic age (in weeks) at 3 years was determined using the pediatric buccal epigenetic clock and corrected for chronological age to give epigenetic age difference. Main Outcomes and Measures: Primary analyses used linear regression to examine the association between epigenetic age difference, preterm risk factors (any brain injury, severe brain injury, maternal educational level), and cognitive and motor outcomes at 3 years. Secondary analyses examined whether brain injury and maternal education level modified the associations between epigenetic age difference and cognitive and motor outcomes at 3 years. Results: A total of 102 study participants (median gestational age, 27.0 weeks [IQR, 25.6-28.9 weeks]; 54 female [53%]) were included. Higher maternal educational level (β = 11.65; 95% CI, 3.55-19.76; P = .005) and epigenetic age acceleration (β = 0.07; 95% CI, 0.01-0.14; P = .04) were associated with higher cognitive scores. Epigenetic age acceleration was also associated with higher motor scores (β = 0.16; 95% CI, 0.06-0.27; P = .003), while extreme prematurity (β = -5.66; 95% CI, -10.85 to -0.46; P = .03) and severe brain injury (β = -10.99; 95% CI, -21.32 to -0.66; P = .04) were associated with lower motor scores. Severe brain injury modified the association between epigenetic aging and motor outcomes (β = 0.41; 95% CI, 0.08-0.74; P = .02), and children with epigenetic age acceleration in the presence of severe brain injury had higher motor scores. Conclusions and Relevance: In this prospective preterm cohort study, epigenetic aging, severe brain injury, and socioeconomic status were associated with neurodevelopmental outcomes. Children with severe brain injury along with epigenetic age acceleration had higher motor scores. These findings suggest the association between epigenetic aging and neurodevelopment is context dependent and can vary based on the presence of preterm risk factors.

Indexed as

Brain InjuriesEpigenesis, GeneticInfant, PrematureChild DevelopmentChild, PreschoolFemaleGestational AgeHumansInfant, NewbornMaleNeurodevelopmentProspective StudiesRisk Factors

Identifiers

PMID42886482
PMCPMC13675819

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.