Liu Shelley H, Bellinger David, Dams-O'Connor Kristen, Teresi Jeanne A, Pantic Ivan, Martínez-Medina Sandra, Chelonis John, Téllez-Rojo Martha M, Wright Robert O
Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Children (Basel). 2025 Apr 23;12(5):537. doi: 10.3390/children12050537.
To determine if prenatal socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with childhood working memory (WM), we constructed a more precise, integrative measure of WM using variables from multiple tasks that may provide a more representative measure of WM.
We used data from a prospective birth cohort study in Mexico City, Mexico, with N = 515 children aged 6-9 years. Prenatal SES was measured using the Mexican Association of Marketing Research and Public Opinion Agencies (AMAI) index. We created a latent variable for nonverbal working memory using multiple tasks (Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery spatial working memory, operant chamber Delayed Match to Sample and Incremental Repeated Acquisition). Structural equation models were used to assess associations between prenatal SES and nonverbal working memory, adjusting for child demographics (e.g., age and sex), prenatal exposures (e.g., exposures to lead, arsenic, and secondhand smoke), and family (current SES, maternal IQ) variables.
Children had a mean age of 6.6 years [SD 0.6], and 50.5% were boys. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we constructed a latent variable of nonverbal working memory, which was measurement invariant across child sex. Prenatal SES was associated with childhood nonverbal working memory (standardized factor loading = 0.17; = 0.004). These associations were modified by child sex. Higher prenatal SES was significantly associated with higher childhood WM in females (standardized factor loading = 0.26; = 0.002), but not in males.
Prenatal socioeconomic status is a predictor of childhood working memory, but it may be a stronger predictor for girls compared with for boys.
为了确定产前社会经济地位（SES）是否与儿童工作记忆（WM）相关，我们使用来自多个任务的变量构建了一种更精确、综合的WM测量方法，该方法可能会提供更具代表性的WM测量值。
我们使用了来自墨西哥城一项前瞻性出生队列研究的数据，样本为515名6 - 9岁的儿童。产前SES采用墨西哥市场研究与民意调查机构协会（AMAI）指数进行测量。我们使用多个任务（剑桥神经心理测试自动成套测验空间工作记忆、操作箱延迟匹配样本和递增重复获取）创建了一个非言语工作记忆的潜在变量。采用结构方程模型评估产前SES与非言语工作记忆之间的关联，并对儿童人口统计学特征（如年龄和性别）、产前暴露因素（如铅、砷和二手烟暴露）以及家庭变量（当前SES、母亲智商）进行了调整。
儿童的平均年龄为6.6岁[标准差0.6]，50.5%为男孩。通过验证性因素分析，我们构建了一个非言语工作记忆的潜在变量，该变量在儿童性别间具有测量不变性。产前SES与儿童期非言语工作记忆相关（标准化因素负荷 = 0.17；P = 0.004）。这些关联因儿童性别而有所不同。较高的产前SES与女性儿童较高的工作记忆显著相关（标准化因素负荷 = 0.26；P = 0.002），但与男性儿童无关。
产前社会经济地位是儿童工作记忆的一个预测因素，但与男孩相比，它对女孩可能是一个更强的预测因素。
