The influence of social determinants of health during the perinatal period on the brain development

Poster No:

674 

Submission Type:

Late-Breaking Abstract Submission 

Authors:

Selina Belair1, Enzo Cipriani2, Robert-Paul Juster1, Boris Bernhardt3, Anna MacKinnon1

Institutions:

1University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, 2Univer, Montreal, Quebec, 3McGill University, Montreal, Quebec

First Author:

Selina Belair  
University of Montreal
Montreal, Quebec

Co-Author(s):

Enzo Cipriani  
Univer
Montreal, Quebec
Robert-Paul Juster  
University of Montreal
Montreal, Quebec
Boris Bernhardt  
McGill University
Montreal, Quebec
Anna MacKinnon  
University of Montreal
Montreal, Quebec

Introduction:

Social advantage is often linked to better physical and mental health. Studies indicate that social determinants of health (SDoH)-including socio-economic, cultural, and symbolic factors-affect a child's neurodevelopment beginning as early as perinatal period (Marmot, 2005; Public Health Agency of Canada, 2022; World Health Organization, 2024). Adverse parental SDoH, such as low socio-economic status or high neighborhood deprivation, may disrupt children's brain development during this vulnerable time (Gee & Cohodes 2021; Brady et al., 2022; Triplett et al., 2022; Herzberg & Smyser, 2024). Indeed, studies have shown that there is a bio-social inheritance of SDoH, resulting in an intergenerational transmission of altered brain outcomes (Hoke & McDade, 2014; Houweling & Grünberger, 2024). Despite such contributions to the current literature, few studies examine the overall profile of SDoH on early childhood neurodevelopment. Also, a lack a unified methodologies in these studies makes it difficult to generalize and agree to a consensus regarding this topic. A French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu, offers a standardised framework on for SDoH (social, cultural, economic and symbolic), allowing for a better understanding and a coherent analysis of these determinants (Bourdieu, 2018).

This study aims to develop an indexing tool for perinatal SDoH to investigate their association with early child brain structure and connectivity.

Methods:

We conducted secondary analysis of data from the participants in the "Pregnancy during the pandemic" cohort study. Demographic information was obtained from a total of 2,983 pregnant persons (Mage = 30.73, SD = 4.55) who were living in Quebec, Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. SDoH was extracted from self-reported data to create aggregated variables and then proceed towards the development of the index. Children will undergo neuroimaging sessions to measure structural and functional brain connectivity (sMRI, diffusion tensor imaging, ex. between temporal and parietal regions, between prefrontal cortex and amygdala, etc.). Multiple regression analyses will be conducted to evaluate the link between perinatal SDoH with child neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Results:

Preliminary results: Demographic data indicates socio-economic advantage across all of Bourdieu's forms of capital. Regarding social capital, 88.9% of participants are cohabiting or married, with high levels of perceived social support (MISEL-12 = 39.55) and relationship satisfaction (MCSI-4 = 16.53). In terms of cultural capital, 31.2% of pregnant individuals hold a college or trade degree, 33.3% have a bachelor's degree, and 22.5% have completed graduate studies. For economic capital, 76.5% of participants are employed full-time, and 67.3% report a household income of at least $70,000 per year. Lastly, symbolic capital is reflected in the sample's composition, with 79.1% identifying as Caucasian and 84.4% born in Canada.

Conclusions:

This study aims to clarify the effects of social capital on neurodevelopment and contribute to understanding the intergenerational transmission of perinatal SDoH. Additionally, this study will create a theory-driven index with the potential to reduce variance and better integrate SDoH in future studies.

Disorders of the Nervous System:

Neurodevelopmental/ Early Life (eg. ADHD, autism) 2

Education, History and Social Aspects of Brain Imaging:

Education, History and Social Aspects of Brain Imaging

Emotion, Motivation and Social Neuroscience:

Social Neuroscience Other 1

Lifespan Development:

Normal Brain Development: Fetus to Adolescence

Modeling and Analysis Methods:

Connectivity (eg. functional, effective, structural)

Novel Imaging Acquisition Methods:

Diffusion MRI

Keywords:

Development
FUNCTIONAL MRI
PEDIATRIC
Social Interactions
STRUCTURAL MRI

1|2Indicates the priority used for review

Abstract Information

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Please indicate below if your study was a "resting state" or "task-activation” study.

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Healthy subjects only or patients (note that patient studies may also involve healthy subjects):

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Was this research conducted in the United States?

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Were any human subjects research approved by the relevant Institutional Review Board or ethics panel? NOTE: Any human subjects studies without IRB approval will be automatically rejected.

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Were any animal research approved by the relevant IACUC or other animal research panel? NOTE: Any animal studies without IACUC approval will be automatically rejected.

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Please indicate which methods were used in your research:

Structural MRI
Diffusion MRI

Provide references using APA citation style.

Bourdieu, P. (2018). The forms of capital. In The sociology of economic life (pp. 78-92). Routledge.

Brady, R. G. (2022). The effects of prenatal exposure to neighborhood crime on neonatal functional connectivity. Biological Psychiatry, 92(2), 139-148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.01.020

Gee, D. G. (2021). Influences of caregiving on development: A sensitive period for biological embedding of predictability and safety cues. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 30(5), 376-383. https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214211015673

Herzberg, M. P. (2024). Prenatal social determinants of health: Narrative review of maternal environments and neonatal brain development. Pediatric Research, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-024-03345-7

Hoke, M. K. (2014). Biosocial inheritance: A framework for the study of the intergenerational transmission of health disparities. Annals of Anthropological Practice, 38(2), 187-213. https://doi.org/10.1111/napa.12052

Houweling, T. A. (2024). Intergenerational transmission of health inequalities: Towards a life course approach to socioeconomic inequalities in health–A review. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 78(10), 641-649. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2022-220162

Marmot, M. (2005). Social determinants of health. OUP Oxford.

Public Health Agency of Canada. (2022). Social determinants of health and health inequalities. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/population-health/what-determines-health.html

Triplett, R. L. (2022). Association of Prenatal Exposure to Early-Life Adversity With Neonatal Brain Volumes at Birth. JAMA network open, 5(4), e227045. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.7045

World Health Organization. (2024). Social determinants of health.

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