Sato Julie, McGee Meghan, Bando Nicole, Law Nicole, Unger Sharon, O'Connor Deborah L
Department of Diagnostic Imaging, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Front Nutr. 2022 Jul 19;9:874118. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.874118. eCollection 2022.
Children born very low birth weight (VLBW, <1,500 g) are at high risk for cognitive and academic difficulties later in life. Although early nutrition (e.g., breastfeeding) is positively correlated with IQ in children born VLBW, the association between dietary intake in childhood and cognitive performance is unknown. Thus, our study is the first to investigate the relationship between diet quality, as measured by the Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010) and cognitive performance in a Canadian cohort of 5-year-old children born VLBW ( = 158; 47% female). Diet quality was measured using two 24-h diet recalls obtained from parents and cognitive performance was assessed using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-IV (WPPSI-IV). To account for additional sociodemographic factors that could influence neurodevelopment, linear regression analyses were adjusted for sex, household income above/below the poverty line, maternal education, birth weight and breastfeeding duration. Mean ± SD HEI-2010 score was 58.2 ± 12.4, with most children (67%) having diets in "need of improvement" (scores 51-80). HEI-2010 scores were not significantly associated with IQ or any other WPPSI-IV composite score. Significant predictors of IQ in our model were birth weight, sex, and maternal education. Our findings emphasize the important role of maternal education and other sociodemographic factors on neurodevelopment in children born VLBW. Further, despite not finding any significant association between HEI-2010 scores and IQ, our results highlight the need to improve diet quality in young children born VLBW. Further research is needed to confirm the impact of diet quality on cognitive performance in this vulnerable population.
极低出生体重（VLBW，<1500克）的儿童在日后生活中面临认知和学业困难的高风险。尽管早期营养（如母乳喂养）与极低出生体重儿童的智商呈正相关，但儿童时期的饮食摄入量与认知表现之间的关联尚不清楚。因此，我们的研究首次调查了以2010年健康饮食指数（HEI - 2010）衡量的饮食质量与加拿大一组5岁极低出生体重儿童（n = 158；47%为女性）认知表现之间的关系。饮食质量通过从父母那里获得的两次24小时饮食回忆来衡量，认知表现则使用韦氏学前和小学智力量表第四版（WPPSI - IV）进行评估。为了考虑可能影响神经发育的其他社会人口学因素，线性回归分析对性别、家庭收入高于/低于贫困线、母亲教育程度、出生体重和母乳喂养持续时间进行了调整。HEI - 2010得分的平均值±标准差为58.2±12.4，大多数儿童（67%）的饮食“需要改善”（得分51 - 80）。HEI - 2010得分与智商或任何其他WPPSI - IV综合得分均无显著关联。我们模型中智商的显著预测因素是出生体重、性别和母亲教育程度。我们的研究结果强调了母亲教育程度和其他社会人口学因素对极低出生体重儿童神经发育的重要作用。此外，尽管未发现HEI - 2010得分与智商之间存在任何显著关联，但我们的结果凸显了改善极低出生体重幼儿饮食质量的必要性。需要进一步研究来证实饮食质量对这一脆弱人群认知表现的影响。
