Table 3.
Associations of Early Childhood Sugar, Beverage, and Fruit Consumption With Child Cognition in Early (Median 3.3 Years) and Mid-Childhood (Median 7.7 years)a
| Dietary exposure | N | β (95% CI)b | p-value | FDR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sucrose, per 15 grams/day | ||||
| PPVT-III, early childhood | 1,002 | 0.1 (−1.2, 1.4) | 0.88 | 0.93 |
| Total WRAVMA, early childhood | 965 | 0.0 (−1.1, 1.2) | 0.96 | 0.99 |
| KBIT-II verbal, mid-childhood | 850 | −0.2 (−1.6, 1.3) | 0.79 | 0.90 |
| KBIT-II non-verbal, mid-childhood | 856 | −0.4 (−2.2, 1.5) | 0.71 | 0.88 |
| WRAVMA drawing, mid-childhood | 850 | −0.4 (−2.3, 1.6) | 0.72 | 0.88 |
| WRAML visual memory, mid-childhood | 853 | −0.1 (−0.6, 0.4) | 0.73 | 0.88 |
| Fructose, per 15 grams/day | ||||
| PPVT-III, early childhood | 1,002 | 1.5 (0.5, 2.6) | 0.005 | 0.14 |
| Total WRAVMA, early childhood | 965 | 0.7 (−0.2, 1.6) | 0.13 | 0.78 |
| KBIT-II verbal, mid-childhood | 850 | 0.4 (−0.8, 1.5) | 0.53 | 0.87 |
| KBIT-II non-verbal, mid-childhood | 856 | 0.8 (−0.7, 2.2) | 0.29 | 0.85 |
| WRAVMA drawing, mid-childhood | 850 | 0.6 (−0.9, 2.1) | 0.44 | 0.85 |
| WRAML visual memory, mid-childhood | 853 | 0.3 (−0.1, 0.6) | 0.20 | 0.85 |
| Sugar-sweetened beverages, servings/day | ||||
| PPVT-III, early childhood | 1,031 | −0.8 (−2.7, 1.0) | 0.38 | 0.85 |
| Total WRAVMA, early childhood | 994 | −0.4 (−2.0, 1.2) | 0.60 | 0.88 |
| KBIT-II verbal, mid-childhood | 877 | −2.4 (−4.3, −0.5) | 0.01 | 0.14 |
| KBIT-II non-verbal, mid-childhood | 884 | 0.8 (−1.6, 3.2) | 0.52 | 0.87 |
| WRAVMA drawing, mid-childhood | 878 | −1.0 (−3.6, 1.5) | 0.42 | 0.85 |
| WRAML visual memory, mid-childhood | 881 | −0.1 (−0.7, 0.6) | 0.84 | 0.92 |
| Juice, servings/day | ||||
| PPVT-III, early childhood | 1,032 | 0.2 (−0.4, 0.8) | 0.47 | 0.85 |
| Total WRAVMA, early childhood | 996 | 0.1 (−0.4, 0.7) | 0.56 | 0.88 |
| KBIT-II verbal, mid-childhood | 878 | −0.3 (−0.9, 0.3) | 0.30 | 0.85 |
| KBIT-II non-verbal, mid-childhood | 885 | 0.0 (−0.8, 0.8) | 0.99 | 0.99 |
| WRAVMA drawing, mid-childhood | 879 | 0.3 (−0.5, 1.1) | 0.43 | 0.85 |
| WRAML visual memory, mid-childhood | 882 | 0.1 (−0.2, 0.3) | 0.61 | 0.88 |
| Diet soda, servings/day | ||||
| PPVT-III, early childhood | 1,028 | −1.6 (−9.0, 5.9) | 0.68 | 0.88 |
| Total WRAVMA, early childhood | 991 | 0.8 (−5.7, 7.4) | 0.80 | 0.90 |
| KBIT-II verbal, mid-childhood | 874 | 2.1 (−7.1, 11.3) | 0.65 | 0.88 |
| KBIT-II non-verbal, mid-childhood | 881 | −4.6 (−16.6, 7.3) | 0.45 | 0.85 |
| WRAVMA drawing, mid-childhood | 875 | 6.8 (−5.5, 19.0) | 0.28 | 0.85 |
| WRAML visual memory, mid-childhood | 878 | 1.2 (−1.9, 4.4) | 0.45 | 0.85 |
| Fruit intake, servings/day | ||||
| PPVT-III, early childhood | 1,033 | 0.6 (0.1, 1.1) | 0.03 | 0.24 |
| Total WRAVMA, early childhood | 996 | 0.6 (0.1, 1.1) | 0.009 | 0.14 |
| KBIT-II verbal, mid-childhood | 878 | 0.5 (0.0, 1.1) | 0.06 | 0.40 |
| KBIT-II non-verbal, mid-childhood | 885 | 0.4 (−0.3, 1.1) | 0.31 | 0.85 |
| WRAVMA drawing, mid-childhood | 879 | 0.4 (−0.3, 1.2) | 0.24 | 0.85 |
| WRAML visual memory, mid-childhood | 882 | 0.1 (−0.1, 0.3) | 0.34 | 0.85 |
Notes: Values are based on multivariable linear regression.
Early childhood cognition was assessed at a median of 3.3 years and mid-childhood cognition was assessed at a median of 7.7 years.
Adjusted for maternal age, pre-pregnancy BMI, parity, college graduate, fish intake (average of first and second trimester), smoking during pregnancy, household income at enrollment >$70,000, and corresponding intake during pregnancy (i.e., sucrose, fructose, sugar-sweetened beverages, fruit juice, or diet soda) and child sex, race/ethnicity, and birth weight for gestational age z-score.
FDR, False Discovery Rate adjusted p-value based on n=36 models; PPVT-III, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, third edition; WRAVMA, Wide Range Assessment of Visual Motor Abilities; KBIT-II, Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, second edition; WRAML, Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning.