Helen Christensen1, Liana S Leach, Andrew Mackinnon. 1. Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia. Helen.Christensen@anu.edu.au
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Research has reported that pregnant women and mothers become forgetful. However, in these studies, women are not recruited prior to pregnancy, samples are not representative and studies are underpowered. AIMS: The current study sought to determine whether pregnancy and motherhood are associated with brief or long-term cognitive deterioration using a representative sample and measuring cognition during and before the onset of pregnancy and motherhood. METHOD: Women aged 20-24 years were recruited prospectively and assessed in 1999, 2003 and 2007. Seventy-six women were pregnant at follow-up assessments, 188 became mothers between study waves and 542 remained nulliparous. RESULTS: No significant differences in cognitive change were found as a function of pregnancy or motherhood, although late pregnancy was associated with deterioration on one of four tests of memory and cognition. CONCLUSIONS: The hypothesis that pregnancy and motherhood are associated with persistent cognitive deterioration was not supported. Previous negative findings may be a result of biased sampling.
BACKGROUND: Research has reported that pregnant women and mothers become forgetful. However, in these studies, women are not recruited prior to pregnancy, samples are not representative and studies are underpowered. AIMS: The current study sought to determine whether pregnancy and motherhood are associated with brief or long-term cognitive deterioration using a representative sample and measuring cognition during and before the onset of pregnancy and motherhood. METHOD:Women aged 20-24 years were recruited prospectively and assessed in 1999, 2003 and 2007. Seventy-six women were pregnant at follow-up assessments, 188 became mothers between study waves and 542 remained nulliparous. RESULTS: No significant differences in cognitive change were found as a function of pregnancy or motherhood, although late pregnancy was associated with deterioration on one of four tests of memory and cognition. CONCLUSIONS: The hypothesis that pregnancy and motherhood are associated with persistent cognitive deterioration was not supported. Previous negative findings may be a result of biased sampling.
Authors: E Candeias; A I Duarte; I Sebastião; M A Fernandes; A I Plácido; C Carvalho; S Correia; R X Santos; R Seiça; M S Santos; C R Oliveira; P I Moreira Journal: Mol Neurobiol Date: 2016-10-11 Impact factor: 5.590
Authors: Roksana Karim; Ha Dang; Victor W Henderson; Howard N Hodis; Jan St John; Roberta D Brinton; Wendy J Mack Journal: J Am Geriatr Soc Date: 2016-11-07 Impact factor: 5.562