{
  "abstract": "Background: Infants born small for gestational age (SGA) face a higher likelihood of divergent neurodevelopmental trajectories. Positional cranial deformation is an early and observable clinical feature that has been associated with developmental differences in general populations, but its neurodevelopmental relevance in SGA infants remains unclear. This study investigated the associations between positional cranial deformation and domain-specific neurodevelopmental performance among SGA infants.\n\nMethods: This cross-sectional analysis was conducted within a clinical follow-up cohort of SGA infants. A total of 156 infants who completed both three-dimensional cranial morphology assessment and Gesell Developmental Schedules (GDS) evaluation were included; the upper eligibility limit was 18 months of age. Assessments were concentrated in early infancy, with median ages of 6.36 months (IQR, 4.80–9.18) at cranial scanning and 6.90 months (IQR, 6.12–10.08) at GDS assessment. Multiple linear regression models examined the associations between cranial shape and developmental quotient (DQ) scores.\n\nResults: Overall cranial deformation was associated with lower developmental quotient scores in the fine motor and adaptive behavior domains after false discovery rate correction ( P FDR < 0.05). Exploratory subtype analyses suggested similar patterns for brachycephaly and plagiocephaly, particularly in fine motor and adaptive behavior domains. The direction and magnitude of associations were generally consistent in sensitivity analyses.\n\nConclusion: Cranial deformation in SGA infants was associated with differences in developmental performance in fine motor and adaptive behavior domains. Exploratory subtype analyses suggested nominal associations for brachycephaly and plagiocephaly, but these associations were no longer significant after multiple-comparison correction. These findings suggest that cranial morphology may provide an accessible clinical indicator for developmental monitoring during SGA follow-up.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Child Health Care Medical Division, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University",
    "Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Center for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Center",
    "Department of Child Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, The University of Osaka",
    "Molecular Research Center for Children's Mental Development, United Graduate School of Child Development, The University of Osaka",
    "Department of Pediatrics, The University of Osaka Graduate School of Medicine",
    "Research Center for Child Mental Development, Chiba University",
    "United Graduate School of Child Development, The University of Osaka, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University, and University of Fukui",
    "Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Chiba University Hospital",
    "NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Embryogenesis and Developmental Molecular Biology & Shanghai Key Laboratory of Embryo and Reproduction Engineering",
    "College of Health Science and Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jiang Zhu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Dan Wu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Lingyan Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Daqian Zhu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yangyi Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Masaya Tachibana"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xia Hong"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5,
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Yoshiyuki Hirano"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        8,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Jinjin Chen"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3kfb8n1xp3p9n.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fpubh.2026.1936897",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "3kfb8n1xp3p9n",
  "issns": [
    "2296-2565"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1936897/full",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1311|Craniofacial Disorders and Treatments"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223949655",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1936897/pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-27",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3kfb8n1xp3p9n.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:24Z",
      "native_id": "10.3389/fpubh.2026.1936897",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1936897/full"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1311|Craniofacial Disorders and Treatments",
      "subfield": "genetics-genomics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Positional cranial deformation and domain-specific neurodevelopment in small-for-gestational-age infants: a cross-sectional study",
  "title_text": "Positional cranial deformation and domain-specific neurodevelopment in small-for-gestational-age infants: a cross-sectional study",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:24Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3kfb8n1xp3p9n",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Public Health",
  "versions": []
}