Relationship between Apgar scores and long-term cognitive outcomes in individuals with Down syndrome

• Authors: Laura del Hoyo Soriano, University of California Davis; Jennifer Rosser, Emory University; Debra R Hamilton, Emory University; Danielle J Harvey, University of California Davis; Leonard Abbeduto, University of California Davis; Stephanie Sherman, Emory University
• Journal Title: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
• Volume: Volume 11, Number 1
• Publisher: NATURE RESEARCH | 2021-06-16, Pages 12707-12707
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-90651-3
• Subjects: Health Sciences, Mental Health
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Multidisciplinary Sciences; Science & Technology - Other Topics; ATTENTION-DEFICIT/HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER; EXECUTIVE FUNCTION; NEURODEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOMES; LANGUAGE-DEVELOPMENT; CHILDREN BORN; BIRTH-WEIGHT; TEST BATTERY; PRETERM; RISK; ACQUISITION

Abstract

This study examined the contribution of the Apgar score at 1 and 5 min after birth to later cognitive functioning in 168 individuals with Down syndrome who were between 6 and 25 years of age at time of cognitive testing. Our results showed that a lower Apgar score at 1 min was related to a worse performance in later cognitive measures of receptive vocabulary, verbal comprehension and production, visual memory and working memory. Results also showed that a lower Apgar score at 5 min was only related to worse later outcomes of verbal comprehension and production and auditory working memory. Our findings suggest a need for future studies investigating how specific perinatal events reflected in the Apgar score are linked to later cognitive functioning in individuals with Down syndrome.