Peer-reviewed article
Maternal neighborhood deprivation and its association with early childhood neurodevelopmental impairment in extremely preterm infants.
Brackett C, Diggs S, Letzkus L, Gummadi A, Travers CP et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined whether mothers living in deprived neighborhoods have babies born extremely early who experience more brain development problems by age 2. Researchers followed over 1,200 infants born before 29 weeks of pregnancy across four US hospitals and measured their development using standardized tests at age 2. They found that higher neighborhood deprivation was linked to more severe developmental impairment, even after accounting for other risk factors like low birthweight and infections.
Key points
- Higher maternal Area Deprivation Index (ADI) was independently associated with neurodevelopmental impairment risk in extremely preterm infants
- Male sex, lower birthweight, and late-onset sepsis were also linked to more severe neurodevelopmental impairment
- Of 1,278 infants in the cohort, 275 (22%) underwent developmental assessment using Bayley Scales
- Study adjusted for multiple clinical and demographic factors including maternal race/ethnicity, intraventricular hemorrhage, and infections
Limitations
This is an observational study that cannot establish causation, only association. The study only assessed 22% of the original cohort with Bayley exams, so selection bias may affect results, and the authors note that lower birthweight, male sex, and inborn status were associated with undergoing testing.
Abstract
Objective Evaluate whether maternal Area Deprivation Index (ADI) is associated with neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) at age 2 in extremely preterm infants. Study design Retrospective cohort study of infants <29 weeks' gestation at four NICUs spanning multiple US regions. We analyzed the relationship between ADI and NDI, defined as no/mild, moderate, or severe based on the lowest component score on the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development exam, using a Bayesian ordinal cumulative logit hurdle model. Adjustments included sex, birthweight, maternal race/ethnicity, outborn, severe intraventricular hemorrhage, and late-onset sepsis or necrotizing enterocolitis. Results Of 1278 infants studied, 275 underwent a Bayley exam. Lower birthweight, male sex, and inborn status were associated with undergoing a Bayley exam. Higher ADI, lower birthweight, male sex, and late-onset sepsis were linked to more severe NDI. ADI was independently associated with NDI risk. Conclusion Maternal deprivation measured by ADI was associated with NDI risk.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Analysis of association between maternal neighborhood deprivation (Area Deprivation Index) and developmental outcomes
- Population
- Extremely preterm infants (<29 weeks gestation) born at four US NICUs; 275 infants assessed at age 2
Key finding
Higher ADI was independently associated with neurodevelopmental impairment risk
C et al. · Europe PMC · 10 Sept 2026