• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Monday, September 1, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Science

Gestational age may impact academic performance

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
November 8, 2016
in Science
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

A new study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology indicates that being born either too early or too late may have a long-term effect on children's academic performance.

The risk of cognitive and developmental problems in premature infants is well-established, but preventing preterm birth is limited clinically. By contrast, less is known about what happens to cognitive performance in children born post-term, or about the influence of birth weight variations within post-term populations, where there may be more scope for intervention.

This study details the relationship between gestational age at birth and school grades at age 16 across the full range of pregnancy duration (22 to 45 completed weeks), by weight-for-gestational age, focusing on extremely pre- and post-term births and taking account of possible effects within and between families.

Using the whole Swedish population, over 2 million live births between 1973 and 1994 were linked to the National School Register and other registers from Statistics Sweden and the National Board of Health and Welfare. Academic performance was measured by the final grade achieved on completing secondary education at 16.

Between 1973 and 1994, 9.4% of Swedish births were post-term and 4.6% preterm. Late preterm children (3.6%) were more likely to have been exposed to maternal medical risk or birth complications.

Grade averages were lower for pre- and post-term children than for term-counterparts, and were lowest in children showing evidence of poor fetal growth, irrespective of gestational age. The adjusted grades of extremely preterm children (at 24 completed weeks) were lower by 0.43 standard deviations (95% confidence interval 0.38 to 0.49) corresponding with a 21 point reduction (19 to 24) on a 240-point scale, although they had improved over time. The grades of extremely post-term children (at 45 completed weeks) were lower by 0.15 SD (0.13 to 0.17), corresponding with an 8 point reduction (7 to 9). Grades of pre- and post-term children remained lower than those of term counterparts when considering spontaneous deliveries, uncomplicated unassisted deliveries, children with normal Apgar, or without congenital anomalies. However, induced post-term deliveries were not associated with reduced school performance.

Among matched siblings, within-family effects were weaker, particularly in the preterm sibling cohort and less so in post-term children. This attenuation of effect suggests confounding by unmeasured familial traits. Residual within-family associations suggested there may also be direct causal links between birth at early or late GA and school-leaving age academic performance.

This is the first study to detail associations between pregnancy duration and school performance across the full range of pregnancy. Irrespective of gestational age at birth, there was an independent effect of fetal growth restriction on later school performance which has persisted over time. There may be shared familial traits which influence risk of birth at non-optimal gestational age and also affect the academic performance of those born early or late. These may include modifiable risk factors such as poor maternal diet, smoking during pregnancy, and maternal obesity.

"Less favorable outcomes of post-term infants with poor fetal growth suggest that placental insufficiency may become particularly toxic to neurodevelopment the longer a pregnancy endures," said lead author Dr Hein Heuvelman.

###

The paper "Gestational age at birth and academic performance: a population-based cohort study" is available at: http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2016/10/31/ije.dyw284.full

Direct correspondence to:

Dr Hein Heuvelman
Centre for Women's Mental Health, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Institute of Brain Behaviour and Mental Health
University of Manchester
3rd floor Jean McFarlane building, Oxford Road, M13
9PL, Manchester, UK
Tel: +44 74 72 21 61 53
Email: [email protected]

Media Contact

Daniel Luzer
[email protected]
212-726-6113

http://global.oup.com/academic/;jsessionid=13378C4

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Five or more hours of smartphone usage per day may increase obesity

July 25, 2019
IMAGE

NASA’s terra satellite finds tropical storm 07W’s strength on the side

July 25, 2019

NASA finds one burst of energy in weakening Depression Dalila

July 25, 2019

Researcher’s innovative flood mapping helps water and emergency management officials

July 25, 2019
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Breakthrough in Computer Hardware Advances Solves Complex Optimization Challenges

    153 shares
    Share 61 Tweet 38
  • Molecules in Focus: Capturing the Timeless Dance of Particles

    143 shares
    Share 57 Tweet 36
  • New Drug Formulation Transforms Intravenous Treatments into Rapid Injections

    117 shares
    Share 47 Tweet 29
  • Do people and monkeys see colors the same way?

    112 shares
    Share 45 Tweet 28

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Unraveling Lung Adenocarcinoma Cell Interactions with Transcriptomics

Lower IGF1 Levels in Preeclampsia Affect Trophoblasts

Ghrelin Elevation Linked to Reproductive Issues in Rats

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.