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Longitudinal follow-up of children born preterm: cognitive development at age 19
1Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. eva.tideman@psychology.lu.se
Insights
Preterm birth (born before 35 weeks) may impact early cognitive development, but these differences diminish by adulthood. Long-term follow-up reveals lasting effects are minimal in low-risk children.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Pediatric Neurology
- Longitudinal Studies
Background:
- Preterm birth is a significant risk factor for developmental challenges.
- Long-term outcomes for moderately preterm, low-risk children require further investigation.
- Understanding developmental trajectories from early childhood to adulthood is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the long-term cognitive and scholastic development of preterm children compared to full-term peers.
- To identify developmental risks associated with preterm birth in a low-risk cohort.
- To track developmental changes from early childhood (4 years) through adolescence/young adulthood (19 years).
Main Methods:
- A prospective longitudinal study followed 39 preterm and 23 full-term children.
- Cognitive development was evaluated at 4 years using psychometric assessments.
- Scholastic performance and self-reported attention deficits were assessed at 9 and 19 years.
Main Results:
- Preterm children showed cognitive performance within the normal range at 4 years, but lower than full-term peers.
- Cognitive differences between preterm and full-term groups disappeared by 9 and 19 years.
- No correlation was found between preterm outcomes and birthweight or gestational age.
- Full-term children had superior scholastic performance at the end of compulsory schooling, but this difference vanished by 19 years.
- Approximately one-third of children in both groups reported childhood/adolescent attention deficits.
Conclusions:
- Moderately preterm birth, in the absence of major disabilities, poses a developmental risk primarily impacting early childhood.
- The developmental impact of preterm birth appears to attenuate over time, with minimal long-term differences observed by young adulthood.
- Attention deficits may be reported by a substantial minority of individuals regardless of birth status.
Abstract:
In a long-term prospective study, 39 preterm children born before 35 completed weeks of gestation and 23 full-term children were followed up at 4, 9 and 19 years of age. Psychometric evaluation of the cognitive development at 4 years of age showed that the preterms fell within the normal range, although their performance was inferior to that of the full-terms. This difference between the groups was not found at 9 and 19 years of age. Within the preterm group there was no correlation between the test results and birthweight, gestational age, prenatal or perinatal optimality scores. Full-terms had better scholastic performance at the end of compulsory schooling, while there was no difference at 19 years of age. At 19 years of age, about 1/3 of the children in both groups rated themselves as having had attention deficits during their childhood and adolescence. In this group of moderately immature, low-risk children, preterm birth without major physical or mental disabilities poses a developmental risk that seems to have the greatest impact during the preschool years and then gradually attenuates.