The impact of late preterm birth on executive function at preschool age

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Very preterm birth (<32 weeks) impacts cognitive development.
• The executive function outcomes for late preterm birth (34-36 weeks) are not well understood.
• Executive functions are crucial for cognitive and behavioral regulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare executive function in late preterm children versus full-term children.
• To investigate if late preterm birth is associated with executive function deficits.
• To assess specific executive function domains, including verbal and nonverbal skills.

Main Methods:

• Prospective cohort study involving 4-year-old children.
• Included late preterm (n=39) and full-term (n=44) groups.
• Utilized executive function tasks, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4, and parent-reported behavior inventories.

Main Results:

• Late preterm children performed significantly worse on verbal inhibitory control (p=0.02) and short-term verbal memory (p=0.01) tasks.
• Gestational age was a predictor for performance in these verbal tasks (p=0.02 and p=0.04, respectively).
• No significant differences were found in nonverbal inhibitory control or spatial memory; parent-reported behaviors were similar.

Conclusions:

• Late preterm children exhibit compromised verbal inhibitory control and short-term verbal memory.
• These findings suggest that late preterm birth may be associated with altered brain development.
• Further research is warranted to consider screening late preterm children for executive function deficits.