Grant: Project Grant - PA: Data Analysis Using Existing Databases and Cohorts

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a common condition that affects 5-6% of school-aged children, or 1-2 children in every Canadian classroom. Children with DCD find it hard to learn motor skills and perform everyday activities, such as tying shoelaces, learning to print, or riding a bicycle. DCD is a life-long condition that affects school performance, vocational choices, quality of life, and mental health. We don't know what causes DCD. We do know that children who are born preterm (2-4 months early) are at much higher risk of having this disorder. Preterm infants who are boys, have low birth weight, are very sick on their first day of life, or have high doses of certain medications show slower brain development as a baby, poorer motor skills as a toddler, and/or DCD in childhood. These findings suggest that early life experiences may be related to DCD. But what causes DCD in term-born children? Children with DCD show differences in their brain development, brain structure, and brain function, but we don't know what causes these effects. Just as with preterm infants, could DCD be due altered brain development as a result of early life exposures during pregnancy (prenatal) or events around the time of birth (perinatal). We have a unique opportunity to answer this question by studying families from Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Toronto who are part of a large study that has followed them from mid-pregnancy into childhood and adolescence. With detailed prenatal data (such as mother's health, nutrition, and financial status) and birth data (delivery and the infant's sex, birth weight, and health), we will be able to determine if there is a relationship between these prenatal/perinatal factors and: (1) motor skills in childhood (age 13 years); and (2) brain development, and if this differs between children with and without DCD. This study will help us identify early life risk factors for this common motor disorder, which may help prevent DCD in the future.