Influence of birthweight on childhood balance: Evidence from two British birth cohorts

Background: Birthweight is an important predictor of various fundamental aspects of childhood health and development. Aim: To examine the impact of birthweight on childhood balance performance classification and verify if this is replicable and consistent in different populations. Study design: Prospective birth cohort study. Subjects: To describe heterogeneity in balance skills, latent class analyses were conducted separately with data from the 1958 National Child Development Study - NCDS (n = 12,778), and the 1970 British Cohort Study - BCS (n = 12,115). Outcome measures: Four balance tasks for NCDS and five balance tasks for BCS. Results: Birthweight was assessed as a predictor of balance skills. In both cohorts, two latent classes (good and poor balance skills) were identified. In both cohorts, higher birthweight was associated with a higher likelihood of having good balance skills. Boys were less likely to have good balance compared to girls. Conclusions: The results establish the reproducibility and consistency of the effect of birthweight on balance skills and point to early intervention for individuals with lower birthweight to mitigate the impact of motor impairment.