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Early interventions involving parents to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes of premature infants: a meta-analysis
J A Vanderveen1, D Bassler, C M T Robertson
1Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Insights
Parental involvement in infant development interventions significantly improves neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm infants up to 36 months. These benefits, however, are not sustained by age five.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Neonatal Neurodevelopment
- Evidence-Based Interventions
Background:
- Preterm infants face risks of impaired neurodevelopment.
- Parental engagement is crucial for early childhood development.
- Systematic reviews are needed to evaluate parent-involved interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review parent-involved interventions for infant development.
- To assess the impact on neurodevelopment at 12 months corrected age or older.
- To determine the long-term efficacy of these interventions.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
- Included studies focused on parent-involved interventions for preterm infants.
- Neurodevelopmental outcomes were assessed using standardized tests at various ages.
Main Results:
- Twenty-five studies involving diverse interventions were analyzed.
- Meta-analysis showed improved mental and physical scores at 12 months.
- Benefits persisted for mental scores at 24 months, but not physical scores.
Conclusions:
- Parent-involved interventions show positive effects on infant neurodevelopment up to 36 months.
- Clinically meaningful improvements were observed.
- These neurodevelopmental advantages diminish by age five.
Objective:
To determine in a systematic review, whether interventions for infant development that involve parents, improve neurodevelopment at 12 months corrected age or older.
Study Design:
Randomized trials were identified where an infant intervention was aimed to improve development and involved parents of preterms; and long-term neurodevelopment using standardized tests at 12 months (or longer) was reported.
Result:
Identified studies (n=25) used a variety of interventions including parent education, infant stimulation, home visits or individualized developmental care. Meta-analysis at 12 months (N=2198 infants) found significantly higher mental (N=2198) and physical (N=1319) performance scores favoring the intervention group. At 24 months, the mental (N=1490) performance scores were improved, but physical (N=1025) performance scores were not statistically significant. The improvement in neurodevelopmental outcome was not sustained at 36 months (N=961) and 5 years (N=1017).
Conclusion:
Positive clinically meaningful effects (>5 points) are seen to an age of 36 months, but are no longer present at 5 years.
