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Early fine motor and adaptive development in high-risk appropriate for gestational age preterm and healthy term
L Thun-Hohenstein1, R H Largo, L Molinari
1Growth and Development Centre, Universitäts-Kinderlinik, Zurich, Switzerland.
Insights
Preterm infants show delayed fine motor and adaptive skills compared to healthy peers. Early motor skills predict later intellectual function in these children.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Background:
- Early childhood development is crucial for long-term outcomes.
- Preterm birth is associated with potential developmental challenges.
- Understanding fine motor and adaptive skill progression in high-risk infants is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare fine motor and adaptive skill development in high-risk preterm infants versus healthy term infants.
- To identify predictors of later intellectual functioning in early childhood.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study tracking 97 high-risk preterm and 94 healthy term children.
- Assessment of fine motor and adaptive skills during the first two years of life.
- Correlation analysis with neurological development and perinatal factors.
Main Results:
- Preterm children exhibited delayed fine motor and adaptive development stages.
- Neurological development significantly correlated with motor skills only in preterm infants.
- No significant impact of prenatal, perinatal, or postnatal factors on development was observed.
- Fine motor skills at 9 months and combined skills at 18-24 months predicted later intellectual functioning.
Conclusions:
- Preterm infants require monitoring for fine motor and adaptive skill delays.
- Early fine motor assessments are valuable indicators of future cognitive abilities in preterm populations.
Abstract:
The development of fine motor and adaptive skills during the first 2 years of life is reported in 97 high-risk preterm children and 94 healthy term children. Most stages of fine motor and adaptive development were found to occur at slightly later ages among preterm children. Neurological development was significantly correlated with fine motor and adaptive development in preterm children only. No significant influence of prenatal, perinatal and postnatal variables on fine motor and adaptive development was noted. No significant sex differences were observed in both the term and preterm group. The strongest predictors of later intellectual functioning were fine motor performance at 9 months and fine motor and adaptive skills at 18 to 24 months.