Does a mother's dietary intake during pregnancy influence brain development and therefore cognitive ability?. (360G-Wellcome-084668_Z_08_Z)

£184,336

Foetal and infant nutrition is associated with neurodevelopment and childhood cognition. However, the extent to which poor nutrition is responsible for suboptimal brain development is unclear, because associations between early life nutrition and cognition are heavily confounded by socio-economic status and other lifestyle factors. Many nutrients such as iodine, omega-3 fatty acids and B-vitamins are important in brain development and may have severe consequences if deficient in the diet, althou gh the effect of relatively low levels of these nutrients on cognition is not well understood. We plan to investigate whether exposure to specific nutrients in utero influences cognition. This will be determined by looking at associations between childhood cognition and genetic variants which affect nutrient uptake, metabolism or transport. Cognition in the children will be determined by the Weschler intelligence scale for children (WISC)-III at age 8, and related to both mothers and childs ge notype. The study will be carried-out in a population based cohort of over 14,000 mothers and their children who were recruited during pregnancy and have now been followed up for 16 years. Associations between mothers genotype and childhood cognition will implicate the related nutrient and provide a target for dietary intervention, which could be easily implemented.

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Grant Details

Amount Awarded 184336
Applicant Surname Lewis
Approval Committee Populations and Public Health Funding Committee
Award Date 2008-10-14T00:00:00+00:00
Financial Year 2008/09
Grant Programme: Title Project Grant
Internal ID 084668/Z/08/Z
Lead Applicant Prof Sarah Lewis
Other Applicant(s) Prof Andrew Ness, Prof David Gunnell, Prof Deborah Lawlor, Prof George Davey Smith
Partnership Value 184336
Planned Dates: End Date 2013-06-30T00:00:00+00:00
Planned Dates: Start Date 2009-04-01T00:00:00+00:00
Recipient Org: Country United Kingdom
Region South West