Association of cord blood lipids with infant neurodevelopment: a birth cohort study in Yunnan, China

Although alterations in lipid metabolism were associated with neurodegenerative diseases, the association between lipids in cord blood and infants’ neurodevelopment remains poorly characterized. Neonates’ cord blood lipids were detected, including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), Non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (Non-HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides (TG). At one year of age, neurodevelopmental performance was assessed among infants in a birth cohort from Yunnan, China. Multivariable linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate whether lipid concentrations measured in cord blood were related to neurodevelopmental performance during infancy. This study included 315 infants. The prevalence of neurodevelopmental delay was 13.7% for cognition, 28.6% for language, 24.4% for motor, 7.0% for social-emotional development, and 28.9% for adaptive behavior. Adjusted multiple linear regression analyses showed that LDL-C, HDL-C, and TC in cord blood were positively correlated with infant adaptive behavior composite scores. Cord blood lipids had no linear associations with infants’ cognitive, language, motor, and social-emotional composite scores ( P > 0.05). Infants in the second and third quartiles (Q2 and Q3) of cord blood TG had higher risks of adaptive behavior developmental delay than those in the first quartile (Q1) ( P < 0.05). No specific cord blood lipid concentrations were correlated with an increased risk of infant motor, language or cognitive development delays ( P > 0.05). The risk of infant neurodevelopmental delay did not increase consistently with lower HDL-C levels or higher TC, non-HDL-C, and TG ( P for trend > 0.05). Elevated levels of TC, LDL-C, and HDL-C in cord blood might be positively associated with infants’ adaptive behavior performance. Moderately elevated cord blood TG levels may be associated with poorer adaptive behavior performance in infants; however, this association was not apparent with further increases in TG levels.