Background: Various genetic and environmental influences have been studied for developmental disorders; however, the precise cause remains unknown. This study assessed the impact of maternal serum total cholesterol (TC) level in early pregnancy on early childhood neurodevelopment.
Methods: The fixed data of 31,797 singleton births from a large national birth cohort study that commenced in 2011 were used to identify developmental disorders as estimated by Ages and Stages Questionnaire, third edition (ASQ-3) scores of less than -2 standard deviations at 12 months of age. Multiple logistic regression analysis was employed to search for correlations between possibility of developmental disorders and maternal TC levels in early pregnancy classified into 4 groups based on quartile (Q1-Q4) values.
Results: After controlling for potential confounding factors in 27,836 participants who ultimately underwent multivariate analysis, we observed that elevated TC levels were significantly associated with a higher risk of screen positive status for communication (Q4: adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-1.37) and gross motor (aOR 1.13, 95% CI 1.03-1.25) ASQ-3 domain scores.
Conclusion: This large nationwide survey revealed a possible deleterious effect of hypercholesterolemia in early pregnancy on infant neurodevelopment and age-appropriate skill acquisition at 12 months age.
Keywords: Ages and Stages Questionnaire; Developmental disorder; Infant; Maternal serum cholesterol level; Neurodevelopment.
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