Umbilical cord androgens and estrogens in relation to verbal and nonverbal abilities at age 10 in the general population

Abstract

Sex differences in verbal and nonverbal abilities are a contentious area of research. Prenatal steroids have been shown to have masculinizing effects on the brain that may affect the development of nonverbal and verbal abilities in later life. The current study examined a wide range of biologically active sex steroids (both androgens and estrogens) in umbilical cord blood at birth in a large pregnancy cohort in relation to performance on nonverbal (Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices) and verbal (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-3 and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III) measures at age 10 years. Overall, Androgen and Estrogen composites in cord blood were not found to be predictive of performance on verbal and nonverbal measures at age 10. These data suggest that late gestation sex steroids do not exert a major effect on nonverbal and verbal abilities in middle childhood.