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Updated: Oct 12, 2026
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Modeling analysis of change in neurologic abnormalities in children born prematurely: a novel approach
A Anderson1, P Swank, S Wildin
1Department of Neurology, Clinical Neurophysiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. aander@ligand.neusc.bcm.tmc.edu
Insights
This study tracked neurologic abnormalities in preterm and full-term children. Many high-risk preterm children showed persistent deficits at preschool age, linked to neonatal complications.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Longitudinal Studies
Background:
- Preterm infants face higher risks of neurodevelopmental abnormalities.
- Severity of neonatal complications influences long-term outcomes.
- Understanding changes in neurologic status over time is crucial for early intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate changes in neurologic abnormalities in preterm and full-term children over time.
- To compare neurodevelopmental trajectories between high-risk preterm, low-risk preterm, and full-term infants.
- To determine the relationship between neonatal complication severity and later neurologic deficits.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study design involving 212 preterm and 128 full-term children.
- Categorization of preterm infants into high-risk (severe complications) and low-risk (milder complications) groups.
- Growth modeling analysis to compare patterns of change in neurologic status at 6, 12, 24, 40, and 54 months of age.
Main Results:
- Full-term children exhibited minimal changes in neurologic status.
- Preterm groups showed complex, nonlinear patterns of change.
- At 54 months, 35% of high-risk preterm children had borderline or abnormal neurologic scores.
Conclusions:
- Neurologic deficits persist into preschool age for some preterm children.
- The severity of neonatal complications is associated with the presence of later neurologic deficits.
- Early identification and intervention strategies may be necessary for high-risk preterm populations.
Abstract:
The purpose of this longitudinal study was to evaluate changes in neurologic abnormalities in 212 preterm and 128 full-term children. Preterm infants with severe medical complications were considered at high risk, while those with milder complications were considered at low risk for neurodevelopmental abnormality. The patterns of change in neurologic status for the high- and low-risk preterm and term groups across 6, 12, 24, 40, and 54 months of age were compared using growth modeling analysis. As expected, the term group showed minimal change, while the two preterm groups demonstrated complex, nonlinear patterns of change in neurologic abnormalities. While the results demonstrate improvement over time in both groups of preterm infants, 35% of the children in the high-risk group had neurologic scores in the borderline or abnormal range at 54 months. These findings demonstrate that neurologic deficits are still evident at preschool age in some preterm children and that these deficits are related to the severity of neonatal complications.
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