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Prenatal Programming of Infant Neurobehaviour in a Healthy Population
Author(s) -
Appleton Allison A.,
Murphy Megan A.,
Koestler Devin C.,
Lesseur Corina,
Paquette Alison G.,
Padbury James F.,
Lester Barry M.,
Marsit Carmen J.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
paediatric and perinatal epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.667
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3016
pISSN - 0269-5022
DOI - 10.1111/ppe.12294
Subject(s) - medicine , pregnancy , percentile , gestation , odds ratio , population , obstetrics , cohort , cohort study , distress , pediatrics , demography , environmental health , clinical psychology , statistics , genetics , mathematics , sociology , biology
Background Identifying the prenatal origins of mental conditions is of increasing interest, yet most studies have focused on high‐risk populations and cannot disentangle prenatal and postnatal programming effects. Thus, we examined whether profiles of neurobehaviour indicative of future risk could be identified in healthy 1–3‐day‐old infants, and examined associations with perinatal risk factors. Methods Participants included 627 healthy mothers and term infants from a population‐based US cohort. Neurobehaviour was assessed within 24–72 h after delivery with the NICU Network Neurobehavioural Scales ( NNNS ). A model‐based clustering algorithm was used to derive neurobehavioural profiles from NNNS scores. Maternal health histories, pregnancy conditions and behaviours, labour/delivery factors, and infant attributes were examined in relation to the neurobehavioural profiles. Results Seven discrete neurobehavioural profiles were identified, including one average functioning profile, and two inversely patterned below and above average profiles. Higher pregnancy weight gain ( OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.10, 1.88) and birthweight percentiles ( OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.10, 1.95) were associated with greater odds of below average newborn neurobehaviour. Above average neurobehaviour was associated with experiencing longer gestations ( OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.02, 1.64) and higher 5‐min APGAR scores ( OR 2.43, 95% CI 1.07, 5.52). Maternal pregnancy alcohol use ( OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.33, 0.89), and fetal distress ( OR 0.10, 95% CI 0.01, 0.72) were associated with lower likelihood of having average neurobehaviour. Conclusion Distinct profiles of neurobehaviour can be derived in a healthy population of newborns, with different sets of perinatal factors predicting different patterns of neurobehaviour. These findings suggest a potential in utero origin for mental health risk.