Journal article
Differences in early cognitive and receptive-expressive neurodevelopment by ancestry and underlying pathways in Brazil and Argentina
Infant behavior & development, Vol.46, pp.100-114
02/2017
DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2016.12.001
PMCID: PMC5568044
PMID: 28068525
Abstract
•We find large ethnic disparities in infant neurodevelopment in Argentina and Brazil.•European ancestry is associated with higher neurodevelopment scores.•Mean neurodevelopmental scores are lower for infants of African or Native ancestry.•These disparities are largely explained by geographic and household differences.•Policies that reduce economic inequalities may reduce neurodevelopmental disparities.
We examine disparities in early child cognitive and receptive-expressive skills by ethnic ancestry among infants aged 3–24 months from Brazil and Argentina. We employ unique data on the neurodevelopment of children who were seeking routine well-child care at a set of pediatric clinics in these countries. The sample included children who had normal birth outcomes and no major health complications, allowing us to focus on variation in neurodevelopment among children without major physical health limitations. The physicians attending the pediatric clinics were trained in administering the Bayley Infant Neurodevelopmental Screener, a standardized instrument used to screen an infant’s risk of neurodevelopmental problems on various domains of abilities. We evaluate disparities in overall neurodevelopmental scores and risk for neurodevelopmental problems as well as in cognitive functioning and receptive-expressive neurodevelopment. We also examine the extent to which household demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and geographic location explain these disparities. We find large gaps in both cognitive and receptive-expressive neurodevelopment by ancestry. In Brazil, children of African ancestry have lower scores on both cognitive and receptive-expressive domains and on overall neurodevelopment than children of European ancestry. In Argentina, children of Native ancestry have lower scores on these outcomes than children of European ancestry. These gaps however are largely explained by differences in geographic location and household characteristics, highlighting the importance of policies that reduce socioeconomic and geographic disparities in social capital and economic development for eliminating ethnic disparities in infant neurodevelopment.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Differences in early cognitive and receptive-expressive neurodevelopment by ancestry and underlying pathways in Brazil and Argentina
- Creators
- George L Wehby - Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United StatesAntonio J Trujillo - Department of International Health Johns, Hopkins School of Public Health, United States
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Infant behavior & development, Vol.46, pp.100-114
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.infbeh.2016.12.001
- PMID
- 28068525
- PMCID
- PMC5568044
- NLM abbreviation
- Infant Behav Dev
- ISSN
- 0163-6383
- eISSN
- 1879-0453
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- Grant note
- DOI: 10.13039/100000002, name: NIH, award: U01 HD0405- 61S1, R03 TW0081180-01
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 02/2017
- Academic Unit
- Preventive and Community Dentistry; Health Management and Policy; Economics; Public Policy Center (Archive)
- Record Identifier
- 9984221750702771
Metrics
25 Record Views