Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Oct;29(4):1499-1511.
doi: 10.1017/S0954579417000414. Epub 2017 May 2.

Determinants of neonatal brain-derived neurotrophic factor and association with child development

Akhgar Ghassabian  1 , Rajeshwari Sundaram  1 , Nikhita Chahal  1 , Alexander C McLain  2 , Erin Bell  3 , David A Lawrence  3 , Edwina H Yeung  1
Affiliations

Determinants of neonatal brain-derived neurotrophic factor and association with child development

Akhgar Ghassabian et al. Dev Psychopathol. 2017 Oct.

Abstract

Using a population-based birth cohort in upstate New York (2008-2010), we examined the determinants of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) measured in newborn dried blood spots (n = 2,637). We also examined the association between neonatal BDNF and children's development. The cohort was initially designed to examine the influence of infertility treatment on child development but found no impact. Mothers rated children's development in five domains repeatedly through age 3 years. Socioeconomic and maternal lifestyle determinants of BDNF were examined using multivariable linear regression models. Generalized linear mixed models estimated odds ratios for neonatal BDNF in relation to failing a developmental domain. Smoking and drinking in pregnancy, nulliparity, non-White ethnicity/race, and prepregnancy obesity were associated with lower neonatal BDNF. Neonatal BDNF was not associated with failure for developmental domains; however, there was an interaction between BDNF and preterm birth. In preterm infants, a higher BDNF was associated with lower odds of failing any developmental domains, after adjusting for confounders and infertility treatment. This result was particularly significant for failure in communication. Our findings suggest that BDNF levels in neonates may be impacted by maternal lifestyle characteristics. More specifically, lower neonatal BDNF might be an early marker of aberrant neurodevelopment in preterm infants.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Probabilities of failing Ages and Stages Questionnaire through age 36 months by neonatal BDNF levels (lowest tertile vs. highest two tertiles) and gestational age (term vs. preterm).
The longitudinal probabilities of failing ASQ by neonatal BDNF for children in the primary cohort (singletons and one randomly select of twin pairs) and non-stratified and stratified by gestational age (term vs. preterm) were estimated by generalized linear mixed-effects models using ASQ data from 4 to 36 months in the Upstate KIDS Study. Overall failure indicated failure in any one of the five domains that include fine motor, gross motor, communication, personal-social, and problem solving. BDNF: Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor; ASQ: Ages and Stages Questionnaire
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abdallah MW, Mortensen EL, Greaves-Lord K, Larsen N, Bonefeld-Jørgensen EC, Nørgaard-Pedersen B, … Grove J (2013). Neonatal levels of neurotrophic factors and risk of autism spectrum disorders. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 128, 61–69. - PubMed
    1. Barde YA (1990). The nerve growth factor family. Progress in Growth Factor Research, 2, 237–248. - PubMed
    1. Boschen KE, Criss KJ, Palamarchouk V, Roth TL, & Klintsova AY (2015). Effects of developmental alcohol exposure vs. intubation stress on BDNF and TrkB expression in the hippocampus and frontal cortex of neonatal rats. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 43, 16–24. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Braithwaite EC, Kundakovic M, Ramchandani PG, Murphy SE, & Champagne FA (2015). Maternal prenatal depressive symptoms predict infant NR3C1 1F and BDNF IV DNA methylation. Epigenetics, 10, 408–417. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Buck Louis GM, Hediger ML, Bell EM, Kus CA, Sundaram R, McLain AC, … Druschel CM (2014). Methodology for establishing a population-based birth cohort focusing on couple fertility and children’s development, the Upstate KIDS Study. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, 28, 191–202. - PMC - PubMed