American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access originally published online on April 15, 2008
American Journal of Epidemiology 2008 168(1):21-29; doi:10.1093/aje/kwn085
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS |
Association of Birth Outcomes and Maternal, School, and Neighborhood Characteristics with Subsequent Numeracy Achievement
1 Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, The University of Western Australia, Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia
2 Centre for International Health/School of Public Health, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Correspondence to Eva Malacova, 100 Roberts Road, Subiaco, Western Australia 6020, Australia (e-mail: emalacova{at}ichr.uwa.edu.au).
Received for publication December 17, 2007. Accepted for publication March 13, 2008.
This study investigated the relation between birth characteristics and numeracy attainment at age 8 years. Using a multilevel approach, the authors analyzed all non-Aboriginal singletons born in Western Australia who attended government schools and participated in a Western Australia–wide numeracy test in grade 3 between 1999 and 2005. Appropriateness of intrauterine growth was expressed as the proportion of optimal growth parameters for gestational duration, infant sex, and maternal height and parity, which was derived from a total population of births without risk factors for growth restriction. After the authors controlled for sociodemographic factors, term birth and proportion of optimal head circumference at birth were associated with higher numeracy scores. Increasing proportion of optimal birth length and being firstborn were associated with relatively higher numeracy scores among children born to mothers residing in the most educationally deprived area. The relative advantage of being born first was also higher for children born to single mothers. In contrast, higher Apgar scores and greater proportion of optimal birth weight were associated with a lower relative advantage for children born to single mothers. In summary, term birth and increased growth in head circumference and length are key birth characteristics associated with higher numeracy scores, especially among disadvantaged children.
cohort studies; fetal development; fetal growth retardation; medical record linkage; mothers; residence characteristics; social class; Western Australia
Abbreviations: SEIFA, socioeconomic indices for areas; SES, socioeconomic status; WALNA, Western Australian Literacy and Numeracy Assessment
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  D. Conen, R. J. Glynn, P. M. Ridker, J. E. Buring, and M. A. Albert Socioeconomic status, blood pressure progression, and incident hypertension in a prospective cohort of female health professionals Eur. Heart J., June 1, 2009; 30(11): 1378 - 1384. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|