Socioeconomic Status Differentially Affects Total Grey Matter Volume in Females Born Very Preterm
Poster No:
670
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Taylor Barda1, Benita Schmitz-Koep2, Melissa Thalhammer3, Aurore Menegaux2, Claus Zimmer4, Peter Bartmann5, Dieter Wolke6, Christian Sorg7, Dennis Hedderich3
Institutions:
1Graduate School of Systemic Neuroscience, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Bavaria, 2TUM University Hospital, Technical University of Munich, School of Medicine and Health, Munich, Bavaria, 3Technical University of Munich, Munich, Bavaria, 4Institute for Neuroradiology, TUM University Hospital, Munich, Bavaria, 5Department of Neonatology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, NRW, 6Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Warwick, CV4 7AL, 7Department of Psychiatry, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Bavaria
First Author:
Taylor Barda, MSc.
Graduate School of Systemic Neuroscience, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
Munich, Bavaria
Graduate School of Systemic Neuroscience, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
Munich, Bavaria
Co-Author(s):
Benita Schmitz-Koep
TUM University Hospital, Technical University of Munich, School of Medicine and Health
Munich, Bavaria
TUM University Hospital, Technical University of Munich, School of Medicine and Health
Munich, Bavaria
Aurore Menegaux
TUM University Hospital, Technical University of Munich, School of Medicine and Health
Munich, Bavaria
TUM University Hospital, Technical University of Munich, School of Medicine and Health
Munich, Bavaria
Christian Sorg
Department of Psychiatry, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München
Munich, Bavaria
Department of Psychiatry, Klinikum Rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München
Munich, Bavaria
Introduction:
Very preterm (VPT) birth (i.e., birth before 32 weeks of gestation and/or birth weight below 1500g) significantly impacts brain development, often leading to structural alterations (Hedderich et al., 2019, 2020; Schmitz-Koep et al., 2021, 2022; Wolke et al., 2019). Similarly, socioeconomic status (SES) is a well-established factor influencing brain structure in full-term (FT) individuals (Johnson et al., 2016). However, it remains unclear whether SES effects on brain development differ between VPT and FT individuals. This raises the question of whether an at-risk brain, resulting from preterm birth, is more vulnerable to social influences and whether this vulnerability differs between females and males.
Methods:
Structural T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at 3 Tesla were acquired at 26 years of age (VPT: M = 26.71 ± 0.61 years; FT: M = 26.83 ± 0.74 years) from 101 VPT adults and 111 FT controls, participants in the Bavarian Longitudinal Study. FT controls were recruited at birth to be comparable to the VPT group in SES at birth and sex. SES was categorized as high (1), middle (2), or low (3) (Bauer, 1988). MRI data was processed using FreeSurfer's (v7.3.2) 'recon-all' pipeline.
Statistical analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS (v26; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA), and moderation analysis was performed on the PROCESS macro toolbox (Hayes, 2013). To examine the role of SES in moderating the relationship between preterm birth and total gray matter volume (tGMV), moderation-style ANCOVAs were conducted. Whole-group ANCOVA included sex, scanner type, and estimated total intracranial volume (eTIV) as covariates. In the sex-stratified ANCOVA, which were performed separately for females and males, scanner type and eTIV were included as covariates.
Statistical analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS (v26; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA), and moderation analysis was performed on the PROCESS macro toolbox (Hayes, 2013). To examine the role of SES in moderating the relationship between preterm birth and total gray matter volume (tGMV), moderation-style ANCOVAs were conducted. Whole-group ANCOVA included sex, scanner type, and estimated total intracranial volume (eTIV) as covariates. In the sex-stratified ANCOVA, which were performed separately for females and males, scanner type and eTIV were included as covariates.
Results:
VPT individuals had significantly lower gestational age (30.51 ± 2.13 weeks) and birth weight (1324.70 ± 312.55 g) compared to FT controls (39.71 ± 1.06 weeks; 3398.46 ± 444.35 g, p<0.001). No significant group differences were observed for SES (1.99 ± 0.75 vs. 1.92 ± 0.74) or sex (χ2=0.03, p=0.87). Mean total gray matter volume (tGMV) was significantly reduced in the VPT group (638.7 ± 65 cm³) relative to FT controls (675.3 ± 64 cm³, p<0.001). Whole-group ANCOVA revealed no significant direct effects of preterm birth (b=−1,466.9 cm³, p=0.906) or SES (b=−9,465.3 cm³, p=0.316) on tGMV. Furthermore, SES did not moderate the relationship (ΔR2=0.002, p=0.202).
In the sex-stratified ANCOVA's, significant direct effects of preterm birth (b=−29,603.5 cm³, p=0.020) and SES (b=−29,046.6 cm³, p=0.002) on tGMV were observed in VPT females. Notably, SES moderated the relationship between preterm birth and tGMV (b=17,854.8 cm³, p=0.003), refer to Figure 1b. According to the conditional effects, VPT females from higher SES backgrounds exhibited tGMV values closer to FT controls, while those from lower SES households had persistently reduced volumes, refer to Figure 1c. In contrast, VPT males showed consistently reduced tGMV across all SES levels, with no evidence of moderation.
In the sex-stratified ANCOVA's, significant direct effects of preterm birth (b=−29,603.5 cm³, p=0.020) and SES (b=−29,046.6 cm³, p=0.002) on tGMV were observed in VPT females. Notably, SES moderated the relationship between preterm birth and tGMV (b=17,854.8 cm³, p=0.003), refer to Figure 1b. According to the conditional effects, VPT females from higher SES backgrounds exhibited tGMV values closer to FT controls, while those from lower SES households had persistently reduced volumes, refer to Figure 1c. In contrast, VPT males showed consistently reduced tGMV across all SES levels, with no evidence of moderation.
Conclusions:
This study highlights the significant role of SES in shaping brain structure in VPT adults, with significant effects observed only in women. In VPT females, the conditional effect of prematurity on tGMV was non-significant at high SES, with tGMV values comparable to full-term individuals, while at low SES, prematurity was associated with significantly lower tGMV, suggesting greater female sensitivity to socio-environmental factors. VPT males showed no such evidence, possibly reflecting less plasticity to socio-environmental factors. Future research should identify brain regions where SES moderates the impact of VPT birth on gray matter volume and explore functional implications, such as cognitive outcomes (e.g., full-scale IQ). Understanding these mechanisms can inform targeted interventions to improve long-term outcomes in this vulnerable population.
Disorders of the Nervous System:
Neurodevelopmental/ Early Life (eg. ADHD, autism) 2
Emotion, Motivation and Social Neuroscience:
Social Neuroscience Other 1
Lifespan Development:
Lifespan Development Other
Keywords:
MRI
Other - preterm birth; socioeconomic status; sex differences; grey matter volume
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
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