Birth weight and catch up growth are associated with childhood impulsivity in two independent cohorts

Patrícia P Silveira,Robert Levitan,Birit F P Broekman,Meir Steiner,Irina Pokhvisneva,Carine Parent,Hélène Gaudreau,Anne Rifkin-Graboi,Michael J Meaney,Josie Diorio

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-31816-5

Abstract

Individuals born after intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) are more impulsive towards palatable foods, but it is not clear 1) if IUGR-related impulsivity is specific for foods and solely based on response inhibition and 2) if the development of impulsivity is due to being born IUGR per se or to growing up fast in the first few years of life (catch up growth). Children were classified in the IUGR group if the birth weight ratio was below 0.85. Delta z score for BMI was used as a measure of catch up growth. In MAVAN (N = 274), impulsivity was measured by the Information Sampling Task from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (IST - CANTAB), and in GUSTO using the Sticker Delay Task (N = 327). There is a significant effect of interaction between being born IUGR and the magnitude of catch up growth on the reflection impulsivity from IST-CANTAB at 60 months, in which greater catch up growth associates with greater impulsivity in the IST fixed condition in IUGR children. The finding was reproduced in children from the GUSTO cohort using the Sticker Delay Task. We confirmed that catch up growth interacts with IUGR, having a major role in the development of impulsivity in the first years of life and influencing inhibitory control and decision making processes.

Highlights

Poor fetal growth is associated with long term increased risk for several chronic non-transmittable conditions including type II diabetes[1], metabolic syndrome[2] and a diversity of mental health problems[3]
The number of boxes opened in the Information Sampling Task (IST) was significantly correlated with incorrect judgments in the fixed win condition [r(274) = −0.68, p < 0.0001], demonstrating that response accuracy is a function of the extent of information analysis, a feature of reflection impulsivity
We found a significant interaction effect between intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and catch up growth on IST mean P correct (β = −0.05, p = 0.01); post hoc analysis showed that while there was no significant association between growth and mean P correct in non-IUGR children (β = 0.01, p = 0.24), catch up growth was related to lower mean P correct in IUGR children (β = −0.04, p = 0.02) (Fig. 2)

Summary

Introduction

Poor fetal growth is associated with long term increased risk for several chronic non-transmittable conditions including type II diabetes[1], metabolic syndrome[2] and a diversity of mental health problems[3]. IUGR is associated with increased intake of non-healthy foods and this behavioral pattern contributes to a progressive deterioration of the metabolic profile in these individuals. It is not clear if IUGR-related impulsivity is specific for food and solely based on response inhibition. Our objectives were to investigate 1) if IUGR-related impulsivity is specific for foods and solely based on response inhibition or is seen in other forms of impulsivity (e.g. reflection impulsivity) and 2) if the development of impulsivity is due to being born IUGR per se or to growing up fast in the first few years of life (catch up growth)

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Conclusion