2025/11/08 by K. I. M. McKinnon, Manuel Blesa, Melissa Thye +24 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Medicine · Neuroscience · #Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications #Functional Brain Connectivity Studies #Infant Development and Preterm Care
paper · doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101643
openalex created_date 2025/11/08 · openalex publication_date 2025/11/08 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Preterm birth and socioeconomic status (SES) are associated with brain development in early life, but the contribution of each over time is uncertain. We examined the effects of gestational age (GA) and SES on white matter microstructure in the neonatal period and at five years. included preterm and term children. Diffusion MRI was collected at term-equivalent age (n=153 preterm, n=90 term [127/243 female]) and from a subset at five years (n=26 preterm, n=32 term [22/58 female]). We assessed linear associations of GA, SES (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation [SIMD] and maternal education), and GA×SES interactions on fractional anisotropy (FA) using tract-based spatial statistics. We compared the proportion of voxels with significant associations between timepoints. In preterm neonates, higher GA and higher maternal education, but not SIMD, were associated with higher FA ( p corrected for family-wise error rate, p FWER <0.05). GA-FA associations depended on maternal education and SIMD (β=|0.001-0.005|, p <0.001). At five years, the strength and direction of GA-FA associations depended on SIMD (β=|0.013-0.028|, p <0.001), but not maternal education. In term infants, lower SES was associated with higher FA at the neonatal timepoint only ( p FWER <0.05). Preterm birth and SES both shape brain development at birth and continue to do so at five years. The SES measure most strongly associated with FA in preterm infants switches from a family-level (i.e. maternal education) to neighborhood-level (i.e. SIMD) measure between birth and five years, which suggests strategies to mitigate adverse effects of social inequalities on development may require adaptation as children grow. • Family and neighborhood socioeconomic status associate with fractional anisotropy. • The nature and direction of these associations are influenced by preterm birth. • In neonates, fractional anisotropy is most associated with maternal education. • At five, fractional anisotropy is most associated with neighborhood deprivation.