Search

Cognitive development is the growth and maturation of thought processes. It is a continuous evolution that, according to the developmental psychology of Jean Piaget, begins with the sensorimotor stage (from birth to approximately 2 years of age) and ends with the formal operations stage (from 11 to 15-20 years), characterized by the beginning of abstract thinking and by the use and contrast of hypotheses. Socioeconomic position increases differences in children’s cognitive development. This has traditionally been estimated through social class, educational level or employment situation. In addition to the influence of socioeconomic position, events that occur within the family context in a stable basis could influence cognitive development, such as the habit of eating together sharing experiences, or relaxing with a story in bed before going to sleep.

The recently published work analyzed the role of socioeconomic position, measured through various indicators, in cognitive development evaluated between 7 and 11 years of age, studying the role of the family context as a potential mediator. Indicators of socioeconomic position were evaluated during pregnancy (family social class, parental education, employment and disposable income) and at 7 (Gipuzkoa) and 11 (Valencia) years (At Risk of Poverty or Social Exclusion (AROPE)). Family context and cognitive development were measured with the Haezi-Etxadi Family Assessment Scale 7-11 (HEFAS 7-11) and Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices (Raven’s CPM), respectively.

The socioeconomic position variable that was best related to cognitive development was family social class, showing that those households belonging to lower social classes had children who obtained lower cognitive scores. The indicators of socioeconomic position were related to subscales of the family context, particularly those related to cognitive stimulation, stress of mothers and fathers, and raising children. This indicated that households with more disadvantaged positions also presented worse scores on the family context scales. In this study it was found that part of the relationship between social class and cognitive development was explained by the family context. When the subscales were taken into account separately, they influenced between 5 and 11% on the relationship, while the percentage was 12% when they were taken into account as a whole.

Both socioeconomic position and family context contribute to children’s cognitive development. Equalizing policies and positive parenting programs could contribute to improving the cognitive development of children

Reference: González L, Popovic M, Rebagliato M, Estarlich M, Moirano G, Barreto-Zarza F, Richiardi L, Arranz E, Santa-Marina L, Zugna D, Ibarluzea J, Pizzi C. Socioeconomic position, family context, and child cognitive development. Eur J Pediatr. 2024 Mar 14. doi: 10.1007/s00431-024-05482-x. Epub ahead of print.

Link to scientific article: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00431-024-05482-x

The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency can be up to 75% in adults, even in Southern European countries where there is a lot of sunshine. Pregnant women and infants in particular are at an increased risk. Vitamin D is important for the development of the immune system, and a deficiency can be linked to allergy and asthma in childhood. While most previous studies only look at allergic and asthma symptoms at one time point, this study goes a step further by examining the effect of vitamin D levels during both pregnancy and childhood.

The current investigation used information on vitamin D levels recorded during the INMA study, during pregnancy for around 2500 participants and at 4 years of childhood for around 800 participants. Answers from questionnaires collected between 1 to 9 years were used to determine whether the child had: allergic rhinitis, atopic eczema, wheeze, and/or asthma.

Around 19% of mothers and 24% of children had a vitamin D deficiency. The study concluded that having a higher vitamin D level at a pre-school age was associated with a smaller chance of having eczema during childhood. Also, having a higher vitamin D level during pregnancy and childhood might lower the chance of late-onset wheezing.

The study builds on existing literature relating to the possible positive effect of vitamin D levels in children of pre-school age on atopic eczema. This could be because vitamin D plays a role in preventing inflammation responses and infections. However, the authors highlight the importance of further studies to evaluate vitamin D levels during pregnancy and childhood, and their relationship with allergic and asthma symptoms later in childhood.

Reference: Sangüesa J, Sunyer J, Garcia-Esteban R, Abellan A, Esplugues A, Garcia-Aymerich J, Guxens M, Irizar A, Júlvez J, Luque-García L, Rodríguez-Dehli AC, Tardón A, Torrent M, Vioque J, Vrijheid M, Casas M. Prenatal and child vitamin D levels and allergy and asthma in childhood. Pediatr Res. 2023 May;93(6):1745-1751.

Link to scientific article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36057646/