title: The impact of wealth on the cognitive development of children who were preterm infants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  : The purpose of this study was to explore the influence wealth has on cognitive development in 2-year-old children who were born preterm, and to determine whether racial/ethnic differences in wealth explained disparities in cognitive development.
  
  
  METHODS
  : A nationally representative sample of 1400 children who were born between 22 and 36 weeks' gestation.
  
  
  METHODS
  : Cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  : Secondary data analysis of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). The ECLS-B was a prospective national longitudinal study of infants born in the United States during the calendar year 2001 drawn from birth certificates in the United States.
  
  
  RESULTS
  : The impact wealth (parental homeownership and investments) had on cognitive development at 2 years and whether wealth eliminated the cognitive disparity seen between white, African American, and Hispanic children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  : Wealth (homeownership and investments) did not have an independent effect on cognitive development, but it did eliminate the disparity between white children and African American children (P ≥ .05). However, wealth did not eliminate the disparity in cognitive development between white children and Hispanic children. Hispanic children scored 3.91 points lower than white children (P ≤ .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  : In contrast to other follow-up studies showing persistent differences in cognitive development between white children and African American children, this study found that wealth indicators attenuated the difference. Wealth may be a more accurate proxy for socioeconomic status in studying factors influencing cognitive outcomes in children born preterm than just using measures such as maternal education and income. In future follow-up studies of multiracial preterm children, indicators that represent wealth should be included for an accurate representation of social economic status.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Maryland, Baltimore 21230, Maryland, USA. braid@son.umaryland
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Braid
authors.forename: Pamela K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Donohue
authors.forename: Donna M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Strobino
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development; D003071:Cognition; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000523:psychology*; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012923:Social Class; D014481:United States