Abstract
Neurodevelopmental outcomes including behavior, executive functioning, and IQ exhibit complex correlational structures, although they are often treated as independent in etiologic studies. We performed a principal components analysis of the behavioral assessment system for children, the behavior rating inventory of executive functioning, and the Wechsler scales of intelligence in a prospective birth cohort, and estimated associations with early life characteristics. We identified seven factors: (1) impulsivity and externalizing, (2) executive functioning, (3) internalizing, (4) perceptual reasoning, (5) adaptability, (6) processing speed, and (7) verbal intelligence. Prenatal fish consumption, maternal education, preterm birth, and the home environment were important predictors of various neurodevelopmental factors. Although maternal smoking was associated with more adverse externalizing, executive functioning, and adaptive composite scores in our sample, of the orthogonally-rotated factors, smoking was only associated with the impulsivity and externalizing factor (\(\hat{\beta}\) − 0.82, 95% CI − 1.42, − 0.23). These differences may be due to correlations among outcomes that were accounted for by using a phenotypic approach. Dimension reduction may improve upon traditional approaches by accounting for correlations among neurodevelopmental traits.
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Funding
This work was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Children’s Center Grants ES09584 and R827039, the New York Community Trust, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine. M. Furlong was supported by NIEHS institutional training Grant T32ES007018.
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Appendices
Appendix 1
Origination and follow-up of participants included in principal components analysis and regression analyses
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Appendix 2
Instruments included in principal components analysis of intelligence, executive functioning and behavior in the Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Study.
Instrument | Scales | Age assessed, N children |
---|---|---|
Wechsler preschool and primary scales of intelligence (WPPSI-III) | Verbal IQ (subtest: vocabulary) Performance IQ (subtests: block design, matrix reasoning, picture concepts) Processing speed index (subtests: symbol search, coding) Full scale IQ | 6 years (n = 162) |
Wechsler intelligence scale for children (WISC-IV) | Verbal IQ (subtests: vocabulary) Perceptual reasoning (subtests: block design, matrix reasoning, picture concepts) Processing speed index (subtests: symbol search, coding) Full scale IQ | 7–9 years (n = 161) |
Behavior rating inventory of executive functioning (BRIEF) | Behavioral regulation index (subtests: inhibit, shift, emotional control) Metacognition index (initiate, working memory, plan/organize, Organization of materials, monitor) Global executive composite | 4–9 years (N = 242) |
Behavioral assessment scale for children (BASC) | Externalizing problems (aggression, hyperactivity, conduct problems) Internalizing problems (anxiety, depression, somatization,) Adaptive skills composite (Adaptability, leadership, social skills) Other problems (atypicality, withdrawal) Behavioral symptoms index (aggression, hyperactivity, anxiety, Depression, attention problems, atypicality) | 4–9 years (N = 238) |
Appendix 3
Description of home subscales.
The HOME subscales include (1) involvement, which measures how an adult interacts physically with the child (sample items include: parent keeps child within visual range, talks to child while doing work); (2) learning Materials, which measures whether a child has appropriate play materials at home and elsewhere (sample items include: child has one or more large muscle activity toys); (3) organization, which measures how a child’s time is organized outside the house and what personal space looks like (sample items include: safe play environment, regular caregivers); (4) acceptance, which measures how the adult disciplines the child (sample items include: parent does not shout at child during visit, parent not overly restrictive of child’s movements), (5) responsivity, which measures the emotional and verbal sensitivity and responsivity of parent to the child (sample items include: mother caresses or kisses child at least once during visit), and (6) variety, which measures opportunities for variety in daily stimulation (sample items include: father provides some caregiving every day, family visits or receives visits from relatives approximately once a month).
Appendix 4
Bivariate associations between early life characteristics and neurodevelopmental factors in the mount sinai children’s environmental health center.
N | Factor 1 Impulsivity and externalizing β (95% CI) | Factor 2 Executive functioning β (95% CI) | Factor 3 Internalizing β (95% CI) | Factor 4 Perceptual reasoning β (95% CI) | Factor 5 Adaptability β (95% CI) | Factor 6 Processing speed β (95% CI) | Factor 7 Verbal intelligence β (95% CI) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maternal marital status at follow up | ||||||||
Married | 61 | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent |
Living with partner | 39 | 0.12 (− 0.28, 0.51) | 0.20 (− 0.20, 0.61) | 0.11 (− 0.30, 0.51) | − 0.29 (− 0.69, 0.10) | − 0.25 (− 0.64, 0.14) | 0.20 (− 0.20, 0.59) | − 0.48 (− 0.87, − 0.08) |
Single/divorced/ widowed | 99 | − 0.27 (− 0.58, 0.05) | 0.07 (− 0.25, 0.39) | − 0.02 (− 0.34, 0.30) | − 0.41 (− 0.73, − 0.10) | − 0.46 (− 0.76, − 0.15) | 0.09 (− 0.23, 0.40) | − 0.33 (− 0.65, − 0.02) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.07 | 0.61 | 0.80 | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.62 | 0.04 | |
Maternal IQ | ||||||||
IQ < 100 | 91 | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent |
IQ ≥ 100 | 45 | 0.12 (− 0.24, 0.48) | − 0.49 (− 0.85, − 0.13) | − 0.04 (− 0.38, 0.30) | 0.54 (0.19, 0.89) | 0.18 (− 0.18, 0.53) | 0.06 (− 0.28, 0.39) | 0.80 (0.51, 1.10) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.50 | 0.01 | 0.82 | < 0.01 | 0.32 | 0.74 | < 0.01 | |
Maternal education at follow up | ||||||||
High school or less | 84 | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent |
Some college | 81 | − 0.06 (− 0.36, 0.24) | − 0.26 (− 0.56, 0.04) | 0.15 (− 0.16, 0.45) | 0.04 (− 0.25, 0.33) | 0.07 (− 0.23, 0.37) | − 0.15 (− 0.46, 0.15) | 0.55 (0.28, 0.82) |
Bachelor’s degree | 45 | − 0.16 (− 0.52, 0.21) | − 0.33 (− 0.69, 0.03) | 0.18 (− 0.18, 0.54) | 0.75 (0.40, 1.09) | 0.46 (0.11, 0.82) | 0.05 (− 0.31, 0.41) | 1.18 (0.85, 1.50) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.70 | 0.11 | 0.51 | < 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.47 | < 0.01 | |
Maternal age at delivery | ||||||||
< 20 | 98 | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent |
20–25 | 55 | − 0.11 (− 0.44, 0.22) | 0.01 (− 0.32, 0.34) | 0.13 (− 0.20, 0.46) | 0.09 (− 0.22, 0.40) | 0.06 (− 0.26, 0.38) | − 0.22 (− 054, 0.11) | 0.28 (− 0.04, 0.59) |
> 25 | 57 | − 0.18 (− 0.50, 0.15) | − 0.31 (− 0.63, 0.02) | − 0.05 (− 0.38, 0.27) | 0.70 (0.39, 1.01) | 0.50 (0.18, 0.82) | − 0.16 (− 0.48, 0.17) | 0.74 (0.43, 1.05) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.54 | 0.13 | 0.61 | < 0.01 | < 0.01 | 0.38 | < 0.01 | |
Maternal race | ||||||||
Black or other race | 57 | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent |
White | 31 | 0.01 (− 0.43, 0.44) | − 0.33 (− 0.76, 0.10) | 0.07 (− 0.37, 0.50) | 1.14 (0.74, 1.55) | 0.30 (− 0.13, 0.74) | − 0.01 (− 0.45, 0.43) | 1.05 (0.65, 1.44) |
Hispanic | 122 | 0.22 (− 0.09, 0.53) | − 0.28 (− 0.59, 0.03) | − 0.04 (− 0.35, 0.28) | 0.14 (− 0.15, 0.43) | − 0.00 (− 0.31, 0.31) | − 0.00 (− 0.31, 0.31) | − 0.25 (− 0.53, 0.03) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.29 | 0.16 | 0.87 | < 0.01 | 0.29 | 0.99 | < 0.01 | |
Maternal smoking during pregnancy | ||||||||
None | 134 | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent |
Any | 28 | − 0.53 (− 0.91, − 0.15) | − 0.31 (− 0.73, 0.10) | 0.26 (− 0.14, 0.66) | 0.02 (− 0.38, 0.43) | − 0.18 (− 0.59, 0.23) | − 0.23 (− 0.62, 0.17) | − 0.06 (− 0.44, 0.33) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.01 | 0.14 | 0.20 | 0.91 | 0.39 | 0.26 | 0.77 | |
Maternal alcohol use during pregnancy | ||||||||
None | 132 | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent |
Any | 29 | 0.08 (− 0.32, 0.48) | − 0.07 (− 0.50, 0.35) | 0.11 (− 0.30, 0.52) | 0.68 (0.28, 1.09) | 0.07 (− 0.35, 0.48) | − 0.01 (− 0.41, 0.39) | 0.74 (0.36, 1.12) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.68 | 0.73 | 0.61 | < 0.01 | 0.74 | 0.96 | < 0.01 | |
Maternal canned fish consumption during pregnancy | ||||||||
< 1 times per week | 145 | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent |
1 or more times per week | 22 | − 0.16 (− 0.59, 0.27) | − 0.27 (− 0.73, 0.18) | 0.24 (− 0.20, 0.68) | 0.83 (0.40, 1.26) | 0.36 (− 0.09, 0.80) | − 0.17 (− 0.61, 0.27) | 0.32 (− 0.10, 0.74) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.47 | 0.24 | 0.29 | < 0.01 | 0.12 | 0.45 | 0.14 | |
Child sex | ||||||||
Male | 100 | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent |
Female | 105 | 0.35 (0.08, 0.62) | − 0.11 (− 0.39, 0.16) | − 0.28 (− 0.55, 0.00) | − 0.27 (− 0.54, 0.00) | 0.42 (0.15, 0.68) | 0.40 (0.13, 0.67) | − 0.12 (− 0.39, 0.16) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.01 | 0.41 | 0.05 | 0.05 | < 0.01 | < 0.01 | 0.40 | |
Gestational age | ||||||||
Term birth | 150 | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent |
Preterm | 60 | 0.28 (− 0.02, 0.57) | − 0.13 (− 0.43, 0.17) | − 0.34 (− 0.64, − 0.05) | − 0.19 (− 0.49, 0.10) | − 0.13 (− 0.43, 0.17) | − 0.15 (− 0.45, 0.14) | − 0.46 (− 0.75, − 0.16) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.07 | 0.38 | 0.02 | 0.20 | 0.39 | 0.31 | < 0.01 | |
Head circumference | ||||||||
Centimeters, continuous | 162 | − 0.04 (− 0.14, 0.06) | − 0.12 (− 0.22, − 0.02) | 0.04 (− 0.06, 0.14) | 0.15 (0.05, 0.24) | 0.00 (− 0.10, 0.10) | 0.07 (− 0.03, 0.17) | 0.06 (− 0.03, 0.16) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.43 | 0.02 | 0.47 | < 0.01 | 0.99 | 0.17 | 0.19 | |
Birth weight | ||||||||
< median (< 3270 g) | 76 | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent |
≥ Median (≥ 3270 g) | 86 | − 0.25 (− 0.55, 0.04) | − 0.10 (− 0.41, 0.22) | 0.08 (− 0.23, 0.39) | 0.21 (− 0.09, 0.52) | 0.20 (− 0.11, 0.50) | 0.19 (− 0.11, 0.49) | − 0.12 (− 0.41, 0.17) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.10 | 0.54 | 0.61 | 0.17 | 0.21 | 0.21 | 0.41 | |
Birth length | ||||||||
< Median (< 51 cm) | 75 | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent | Referent |
≥ Median(≥ 51 cm) | 85 | − 0.22 (− 0.52, 0.08) | − 0.17 (− 0.49, 0.14) | 0.33 (0.02, 0.63) | 0.17 (− 0.14, 0.48) | 0.05 (− 0.27, 0.36) | − 0.02 (− 0.32, 0.29) | − 0.14 (− 0.44, 0.15) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.15 | 0.29 | 0.03 | 0.29 | 0.77 | 0.90 | 0.34 | |
HOME observation for measurement of the environment scores | ||||||||
Overall score continuous | 156 | 0.00 (− 0.02, 0.03) | 0.01 (− 0.01, 0.04) | 0.01 (− 0.02, 0.04) | 0.01 (− 0.02, 0.04) | 0.04 (0.01, 0.06) | 0.02 (0.00, 0.05) | 0.01 (− 0.01, 0.04) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.94 | 0.37 | 0.48 | 0.44 | < 0.01 | 0.07 | 0.33 | |
Responsivity ordinal categorical | 156 | 0.04 (− 0.14, 0.22) | − 0.01 (− 0.20, 0.18) | 0.12 (− 0.07, 0.30) | 0.05 (− 0.14, 0.23) | 0.13 (− 0.05, 0.31) | 0.01 (− 0.17, 0.19) | 0.15 (− 0.03, 0.32) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.64 | 0.89 | 0.21 | 0.63 | 0.15 | 0.88 | 0.09 | |
Involvement ordinal categorical | 156 | 0.03 (− 0.16, 0.23) | − 0.04 (− 0.25, 0.16) | 0.04 (− 0.16, 0.24) | 0.22 (0.02, 0.42) | 0.23 (0.04, 0.42) | 0.09 (− 0.10, 0.29) | 0.13 (− 0.06, 0.32) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.76 | 0.68 | 0.70 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.36 | 0.19 | |
Organization Ordinal categorical | 156 | − 0.11 (− 0.29, 0.07) | 0.28 (0.09, 0.47) | 0.21 (0.02, 0.39) | 0.02 (− 0.17, 0.20) | 0.28 (0.10, 0.46) | − 0.01 (− 0.19, 0.17) | 0.00 (− 0.18, 0.18) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.24 | < 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.86 | < 0.01 | 0.94 | 0.99 | |
Learning materials ordinal categorical | 156 | 0.01 (− 0.18, 0.20) | 0.06 (− 0.14, 0.26) | 0.11 (− 0.08, 0.31) | 0.16 (− 0.03, 0.36) | 0.06 (− 0.13, 0.26) | 0.16 (− 0.03, 0.35) | 0.22 (0.04, 0.41) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.89 | 0.54 | 0.26 | 0.10 | 0.52 | 0.10 | 0.02 | |
Acceptance ordinal categorical | 156 | 0.07 (− 0.13, 0.26) | − 0.03 (− 0.24, 0.17) | 0.01 (− 0.19, 0.21) | 0.03 (− 0.17, 0.23) | 0.18 (− 0.02, 0.37) | 0.10 (− 0.10, 0.29) | 0.11 (− 0.08, 0.30) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.51 | 0.77 | 0.95 | 0.79 | 0.08 | 0.32 | 0.25 | |
Variety ordinal categorical | 156 | 0.00 (− 0.20, 0.19) | 0.21 (0.00, 0.42) | 0.16 (− 0.04, 0.36) | 0.13 (− 0.08, 0.33) | 0.22 (0.03, 0.42) | 0.09 (− 0.11, 0.29) | 0.10 (− 0.09, 0.30) |
Pr > χ2 | 0.97 | 0.05 | 0.12 | 0.22 | 0.03 | 0.37 | 0.31 |
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Furlong, M., Herring, A.H., Goldman, B.D. et al. Early Life Characteristics and Neurodevelopmental Phenotypes in the Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 49, 534–550 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-017-0773-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-017-0773-5