Abstract
Objective
Individuals born very preterm (<32 weeks of gestation) or with very low birthweight (<1500g) have lower cognitive function compared with term-born peers. Furthermore, some studies suggest that they are less physically active as young adults than controls, but the relationship between physical activity and cognitive function remains unclear. We performed an individual participant data meta-analysis to examine whether being born preterm/with very low birth weight is associated with physical activity in adulthood and examined if cognitive function mediates this association.
Study design
Cohorts with data on physical activity and cognitive function in adults born very preterm/very low birth weight and term-born controls were recruited from the Research on European Children and Adults Born Preterm, and the Adults Born Preterm International Collaboration Consortia. A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed and Embase.
Results
Five cohorts with 1644 participants aged 22–28 years (595 very preterm/very low birth weight and 1049 controls) were included. Adults born very preterm/very low birth weight reported 1.11 (95% CI: 0.68 to 1.54) hours less moderate to vigorous physical activity per week than controls, adjusted for cohort, age and sex. The difference between individuals born very preterm/very low birth weight and controls was larger among women than among men. Neither intelligence quotient nor self-reported executive function mediated the association between very preterm/very low birth weight and moderate to vigorous physical activity. Results were essentially the same when we excluded individuals with neurosensory impairments.
Conclusion
Adults born very preterm/very low birth weight, especially women, reported less moderate to vigorous physical activity than their term-born peers. Cognitive function did not mediate this association. Considering the risk of adverse health outcomes among individuals born preterm, physical activity could be a target for intervention.
Funder
European Commission as part of the Research on European Children and Adults Born Preterm (RECAP) Consortium Preterm Project
Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Dam Foundation and the Central Norway Regional Health Authority
Academy of Finland, Finnish Foundation for Pediatric Research and Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research
Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation
Alli Paasikivi Foundation
Emil Aaltonen Foundation
Novo Nordisk Foundation
Sigrid Juselius Foundation
Finnish Medical Foundations
Finnish Diabetes Research Foundation
Joint Research Committee of St. Olavs Hospital HF
Fakultet for medisin og helsevitenskap, Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)