Association of Retinal Microvascular Characteristics With Short-term Memory Performance in Children Aged 4 to 5 Years

Autor: Leen J. Luyten, Patrick De Boever, Tim S. Nawrot, Nele Gerrits, Hanne Sleurs, Eline B. Provost, Narjes Madhloum, Bram G. Janssen, Kristof Y. Neven, Michelle Plusquin, Yinthe Dockx
Přispěvatelé: Neven, Kristof/0000-0002-1353-0292, De Boever, Patrick/0000-0002-5197-8215, Gerrits, Nele/0000-0003-0114-9264
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Short-term memory performance
Male
Pediatrics
medicine.medical_specialty
ATHEROSCLEROSIS RISK
Retina
chemistry.chemical_compound
Medicine
General & Internal
WORKING-MEMORY
Belgium
Working-Memory
General & Internal Medicine
Surveys and Questionnaires
medicine
Adults
Humans
Association (psychology)
Network Alterations
Original Investigation
Cognitive Impairment
Psychomotor learning
Science & Technology
business.industry
Working memory
ABNORMALITIES
Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery
Research
Microcirculation
Retinal
General Medicine
NETWORK ALTERATIONS
ADULTS
Weights and Measures
COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT
Mental Status and Dementia Tests
Atherosclerosis Risk
Online Only
Memory
Short-Term
chemistry
Child
Preschool
Female
Abnormalities
business
Neurocognitive
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Cohort study
Zdroj: JAMA Network Open
ISSN: 2574-3805
Popis: This cohort study investigates the association between retinal vessel characteristics and neurological functioning in children aged 4 to 5 years.
Key Points Question Do retinal microvascular traits reflect neurocognitive development in early childhood? Findings In this cohort study of 251 children aged 4 to 5 years, retinal venular widening and a higher vessel tortuosity were associated with a lower performance of short-term visual recognition memory, assessed by means of the Delayed Matching to Sample task of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. Meaning These associations between retinal microvascular characteristics and neurocognitive development in young children provide fundamental information on the association between the microvasculature and neurocognition from early life onwards.
Importance Neurocognitive functions develop rapidly in early childhood and depend on the intrinsic cooperation between cerebral structures and the circulatory system. The retinal microvasculature can be regarded as a mirror image of the cerebrovascular circulation. Objective To investigate the association between retinal vessel characteristics and neurological functioning in children aged 4 to 5 years. Design, Setting, and Participants In this cohort study, mother-child pairs were recruited at birth from February 10, 2010, to June 24, 2014, and renewed consent at their follow-up visit from December 10, 2014, to July 13, 2018. Participants were followed up longitudinally within the prospective Environmental Influence on Aging in Early Life birth cohort. A total of 251 children underwent assessment for this study. Data were analyzed from July 17 to October 30, 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures Retinal vascular diameters, the central retinal arteriolar equivalent (CRAE), central retinal venular equivalent (CRVE), vessel tortuosity, and fractal dimensions were determined. Attention and psychomotor speed, visuospatial working memory, and short-term visual recognition memory were assessed by the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery, including the following tasks: Motor Screening (MOT), Big/Little Circle (BLC), Spatial Span (SSP), and Delayed Matching to Sample (DMS). Results Among the 251 children included in the assessment (135 girls [53.8%]; mean [SD] age, 4.5 [0.4] years), for every 1-SD widening in CRVE, the children performed relatively 2.74% (95% CI, −0.12 to 5.49; P = .06) slower on the MOT test, had 1.76% (95% CI, −3.53% to −0.04%; P = .04) fewer correct DMS assessments in total, and made 2.94% (95% CI, 0.39 to 5.29; P = .02) more errors given a previous correct answer in the DMS task on multiple linear regression modeling. For every 1-SD widening in CRAE, the total percentage of errors and errors given previous correct answers in the DMS task increased 1.44% (95% CI, −3.25% to 0.29%; P = .09) and 2.30% (95% CI, −0.14% to 4.61%; P = .07), respectively. A 1-SD higher vessel tortuosity showed a 4.32% relative increase in latency in DMS task performance (95% CI, −0.48% to 9.12%; P = .07). Retinal vessel characteristics were not associated with BLC and SSP test outcomes. Conclusions and Relevance These findings suggest that children’s microvascular phenotypes are associated with short-term memory and that changes in the retinal microvasculature may reflect neurological development during early childhood.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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