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Patterns of functioning and predictive factors in children born moderately preterm or at term

Renata Cserjesi1, Koenraad Nja VAN Braeckel, Marieke Timmerman

  • 1Department of Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands. r.cserjesi@rug.nl

Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology
|May 29, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Children born moderately preterm (MPT) show slightly affected neurodevelopmental functioning at school age. Poorer performance is linked to below-average abilities, particularly in children with low parental education.

Area of Science:

  • Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Health

Background:

  • Children born moderately preterm (MPT) may experience neurodevelopmental challenges.
  • Identifying distinct functioning subgroups and predictive factors is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify subgroups of children born MPT and at term with varying functional levels.
  • To determine perinatal and demographic predictors of subgroup membership.

Main Methods:

  • Latent class analyses were conducted on 378 seven-year-old children (248 MPT, 130 term).
  • Measures included intelligence, memory, attention, executive function, and motor skills.
  • χ(2) automatic interaction detection identified subgroup-predictor associations.

Main Results:

  • Four distinct performance subgroups were identified.
  • Parental education was the sole significant predictor of subgroup assignment (p < 0.01).
  • The lowest-performing subgroup exhibited irregular patterns, with attentional deficits but relative strengths in intelligence and memory.

Conclusions:

  • Poorer performance in MPT children reflects a higher proportion of below-average functioning, not an extremely impaired subgroup.
  • MPT birth has a slight impact on neurodevelopmental functioning at early school age.
  • Low parental education exacerbates the effects of MPT birth on neurodevelopment.
Abstract

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