Efecto de las condiciones de la niñez sobre la cognición en adultos de mediana edad.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment throughout life is associated with conditions from early stages such as premature birth, malnutrition, low socioeconomic status (SES) and lower educational status. OBJECTIVE: Estimate the influence of childhood conditions on cognition in middle aged participants of a Mexican birth cohort. METHODS: Eighty-two participants aged 52 years (50 female and 32 male) were studied. Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), adapted and validated Spanish version. To estimate the effect of childhood conditions on the MMSE result, multiple linear regression models were performed adjusting for the presence of adult variables associated with MMSE. RESULTS: The childhood variables with a positive effect on cognition were: weight for height at birth, length increments at 6 months of age, weaning age, higher maternal height as well as educational status, newspaper reading and political or religious involvement in both parents, higher SES and housing quality; also, the schooling of the maternal grandmother and if the paternal grandfather read the newspaper. With a negative effect were: maternal overweight, older paternal age, higher paternal height, and nuclear family (vs. the extended family at 3-year follow-up). These models were adjusted for adult variables such as educational status, height, inflammation markers and alcohol intake. CONCLUSION: Childhood conditions such as infant nutrition and growth, parental educational status, SES, and family structure had effects on cognition in midlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]