Lower Childhood IQ Research Articles

Predictors and Correlates of High Levels of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms Among Children at Age 10

To identify factors that predict or are correlated with symptoms of depression and anxiety in 10-year-olds. Women and their offspring were followed from the fourth prenatal month through 10 years. There were 636 mother-child pairs at 10 years, a follow-up rate of 83% of the birth cohort. Cognitive, psychological, sociodemographic, and environmental factors were measured at each phase. High depression and anxiety were defined as having a number of symptoms >1 SD above the mean for each measure. These measures were combined to represent high depression and/or anxiety (D/A) at 10 years of age. Predictors from the prenatal period of D/A at 10 years were more maternal depression symptoms, African American race, less social support, greater household density, and prenatal marijuana exposure. From 18 months through 6 years, lower child IQ, child injuries at age 3, and attention problems predicted symptoms of D/A at age 10. Across all study phases, lower child IQ, household density during pregnancy, attention problems, early childhood injuries, and prenatal marijuana exposure predicted D/A. Maternal psychological and sociodemographic factors were not significant in the final model. Factors from gestation and early childhood predict high symptom levels of depression and anxiety at age 10. When gestational exposure, early environmental factors, and child characteristics were considered, maternal depression and socioeconomic status were not significantly associated with early onset D/A. Marijuana exposure during gestation marginally predicted depression/anxiety at age 10.

Childhood IQ in relation to later psychiatric disorder

Studies examining the relationship between early-life IQ and the risk of subsequent psychiatric disorder in adulthood are scarce. In the present investigation, the childhood IQ scores of 7022 singleton-born Danish males were linked to psychiatric hospital discharge records in adulthood. IQ scores were inversely related to the risk of total psychiatric illness, with the highest levels apparent in the lowest scoring IQ group (HRlowest quintile v. highest=1.70, 95% CI 1.34-2.14). Adjusting for paternal occupational social class and birth weight had only a small attenuating effect. Low childhood IQ may have an aetiological role in the development of adult total psychiatric disorder.

Quality of Life in healthy old age: relationships with childhood IQ, minor psychological symptoms and optimism

The aim of this study was to examine relationships in old age between Quality of Life (QoL), childhood IQ, current cognitive performance and minor psychological symptoms, and to estimate possible contributions to these relationships made by sex, education, socioeconomic deprivation, current living group, sex, and balance and 6m walk time. We conducted a follow-up study on 88 community residents without dementia who were survivors of the Aberdeen City 1921 birth cohort. QoL was measured by the Schedule for the Evaluation of Individual QoL-Direct Weighting (SEIQoL-DW), current cognition by MMSE and Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM), childhood IQ, minor psychological symptoms as assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and optimism by the Life Orientation Test (LOT); we included balance, 6m walk time and demographic data. QoL was better in men than in women. Women reported more anxiety and depression. QoL correlated significantly with current cognition measured by RPM, childhood intelligence, anxiety and depressive symptoms, optimism and balance. The best model to predict QoL relied on childhood intelligence (13.4% of the variance) and was improved by addition of HADS (8.8 %) and LOT (4.8 %). Other variables did not contribute to the prediction of QoL. In the absence of dementia, childhood IQ, HADS and LOT explain 26.9% of the variance in QoL as reported by community-resident old people. The direction of association between current anxiety and depressive symptoms and lower QoL is uncertain. Lower childhood IQ may contribute to coping less well with later life. Lower QoL is not an invariable concomitant of mild cognitive decline.

Inhibitory motor control at five years as a function of prenatal cocaine exposure.

This study examined children's (n = 140, age 5 years) ability to inhibit a motor response as a function of prenatal cocaine exposure. We hypothesized that cocaine-exposed children would perform worse than unexposed children on the Contrary Tapping task. Results indicated that cocaine exposure, high environmental risk, male gender, and low child IQ each were related to poorer inhibitory control. An interaction indicated that cocaine effects were specific to children who lived in relatively low-risk environments. Cocaine-exposed children made an error sooner than unexposed children in low-risk environments but in the same trial as both exposed and unexposed children living in high-risk environments. Potential underlying mechanisms and the importance of examining cocaine exposure effects in the context of children's existing environment are discussed.

Childhood IQ, social class, deprivation, and their relationships with mortality and morbidity risk in later life: prospective observational study linking the Scottish Mental Survey 1932 and the Midspan studies.

To investigate how childhood mental ability (IQ) is related to mortality and morbidity risk, when socioeconomic factors are also considered. Participants were from the Midspan studies conducted on adults in the 1970s; 938 Midspan participants were successfully matched with the Scottish Mental Survey 1932 in which children born in 1921 and attending Scottish schools on June 1, 1932, took a cognitive ability test. Mortality, hospital admissions, and cancer incidence in the 25 years after the Midspan screening were investigated in relation to childhood IQ, social class, and deprivation. The risk of dying in 25 years was 17% higher for each standard deviation disadvantage in childhood IQ. Adjustment for social class and deprivation category accounted for some, but not all, of this higher risk, reducing it to 12%. Analysis by IQ quartile showed a substantial increased risk of death for the lowest-scoring quarter only. Structural equation modeling indicated that the effect of childhood IQ on mortality was partly indirectly influenced by social factors. Cause-specific mortality or hospital admission showed that lower IQ was associated with higher risks for all cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease. Cause-specific mortality or cancer incidence risk was higher with decreasing IQ for lung cancer. Lower childhood IQ was related to higher mortality risk and some specific causes of death or morbidity. Childhood IQ may be considered as a marker for risk of death or illness in later life in similar and complementary ways to social class or deprivation category.

Fluoride concentrations in three types of commercially packed tea drinks in Taiwan.

Tea is a popular drink around the world. It is also one of the major sources of fluoride intake. The objectives of this study were to assess fluoride concentrations in popular non-, semi-, and full-fermented tea drinks sold on the Taiwan market. Concentration differences among three types of commercially available tea drinks (tea leaf, tea bag, and packaged tea beverage) were explored. Several influential factors in intake concentrations were evaluated. The acute threshold intake (ATI) and allowable daily intake (ADI) of those tea drinks were also estimated. For each commercial type, samples from the most popular tea in one particular fermentation degree (non, semi, and full) were randomly purchased and analyzed for fluoride concentrations. Fluoride levels in different rounds of tea, in different containers, and with different ratios of water and tea leaf were also assessed. In total, 132 tea samples were analyzed. The mean fluoride concentrations in leaf tea without the first round, leaf tea with the first round, bagged tea, and packaged tea were 7.04, 7.79, 5.37, and 25.7 mg/l, respectively. Most of the intake concentrations in those samples exceeded 4 mg/l F, the lower bound of fluoride levels reported in the literatures to be associated with a lower IQ in children and a higher risk of bone fracture. Fluoride concentrations in packaged tea were the highest among the three types of commercially available tea. For studied leaf and bagged tea, almost a constant amount of fluoride was infused from the same amount of tea leaf regardless of the water volume. Besides this, making tea with glass or pottery tea makers would not affect fluoride intake concentrations. Acute intoxication is unlikely to occur. However, tea lovers in high fluoride content areas shall consider limit their consumption of tea drinks to avoid potential chronic effects.

Brain white matter lesions detected by magnetic resosnance imaging are associated with balance and gait speed

Objective: To investigate the relations between premorbid and current mental ability, mood, and white matter signal abnormalities detected by T2 weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and impairment of balance...

IQ in childhood psychiatric attendees predicts outcome of later schizophrenia at 21 year follow-up.

Preschizophrenic children who merit psychiatric referral are claimed to have a particularly malevolent illness when the psychosis develops later. The 21 years outcome of a sample of such children was investigated. Fifty-one children who attended psychiatric services, and were later diagnosed as having schizophrenia, were followed up a mean of 21 years later. Baseline childhood demographic, clinical and putative aetiological characteristics were identified from the case notes. Follow-up assessment evaluated clinical symptoms, social functioning and service utilization. The predictive value of baseline factors on outcome was examined. Outcome was poor, and seven (14%) of the subjects were deceased. Childhood IQ was strongly predictive of social outcome (F=5.1, P=0.01) and service utilization (F=5.2, P=0.01), but not clinical symptoms. No other factors predicted outcome. Low childhood IQ had an unfavourable impact on social outcome and service utilization once schizophrenia developed.

The relationship between cognitive abilities and maternal ratings of externalizing behaviors in preschool children.

The association between child cognitive abilities and maternal ratings of child externalizing behaviors was investigated in a randomly selected sample of 290 preschool children. Child cognitive abilities were assessed by the WPPSI-R, whereas mothers completed the Yale Children's Inventory for the assessment of child externalizing behaviors. Maternal education, and maternal child-rearing style, as defined by scores on the Child Rearing Practices Report, was significantly related to perceived externalizing child behavior. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that for girls, low child IQ remained a significant predictor of perceived externalizing behavior when effects of maternal education and child-rearing style were controlled for (p < 0.01). Maternal child-rearing style made independent contributions to explaining variance in girls' and boys' behavior score. The results are discussed in terms of differential gender socialization practices and gender stereotypes.

Update on pubertal development

This review provides updated information relating to the timing of pubertal onset from a large study of girls seen in pediatric practices. In addition, new studies investigating the relationship of the hormone leptin to the onset of puberty are discussed, as well as new information on the neuroendocrine control of pubertal regulation. A provocative study documenting poor mental health, more behavior problems, and lower IQ in children with premature adrenarche when compared with controls raises the question of whether psychological stress triggers premature adrenarche or whether the early increase in adrenal hormone secretion causes psychosocial problems. Finally, significant advances in the management of central precocious puberty in girls have been made over the past year.

DISTURBED PRESCHIZOPHRENICS

Adult outcome information was obtained for a sample of 45 males with a hospital diagnosis of schizophrenia. All cases had been treated at a child guidance clinic as children prior to the onset of schizophrenia as young adults. Refined outcome categories, which reflected the independent judgments of two clinical raters, led to the comparison of poor outcome with more favorable outcome cases in terms of antecedent characteristics. Five rationally derived childhood symptom scales were used. The psychotic scale was significantly related to poor outcome, while acting-out and aggressive symptom scales were related to more favorable adult outcomes. Neurotic and neurological scales were not predictive of outcome. Low childhood IQ and poor peer adjustment were significantly related to poor adult outcome. Sample limitations and comparison with results from other studies were discussed.