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Effect of preterm birth on motor development, behavior, and school performance of school-age children: a systematic
Rafaela S Moreira1, Lívia C Magalhães2, Claudia R L Alves3
1Program in Health Sciences: Child and Adolescent Health, School of Medicine, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil; Departament of Physical Therapy, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC), Araranguá, SC, Brazil.
Insights
Preterm birth can negatively impact school-age children's motor skills, behavior, and academic performance. Early interventions and professional monitoring can help mitigate these long-term effects.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Child Psychology
- Educational Psychology
Background:
- Preterm birth is a significant global health concern.
- Long-term developmental outcomes for preterm infants require thorough investigation.
- Understanding the impact of prematurity on school-age children is crucial for timely support.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and synthesize existing literature on the effects of preterm birth on school-age children's development.
- To identify specific areas of development (motor, behavioral, academic) most affected by prematurity.
Main Methods:
- A systematic review of studies published in the last ten years.
- Searches conducted across multiple databases (MEDLINE/Pubmed, BVS, Cochrane, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycNET) in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.
- Inclusion of observational and experimental studies focusing on preterm children aged 8-10 years, assessing motor, behavioral, or academic outcomes. Strict quality assessment using STROBE and PEDro scales (≥80% score required).
Main Results:
- 33 studies were included from an initial search of 3,153 articles.
- Behavioral outcomes were most frequently studied (61%), followed by academic performance (48%) and motor impairment (33%).
- Only four studies reported no significant effect of prematurity on the assessed outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Preterm infants exhibit higher susceptibility to impairments in motor development, behavior, and academic performance compared to full-term infants.
- These long-term developmental challenges associated with preterm birth can be addressed through proactive measures.
- Early parental guidance, specialized professional monitoring, and targeted interventions are key to preventing and managing these impairments.
Objectives:
to examine and synthesize the available knowledge in the literature about the effects of preterm birth on the development of school-age children.
Sources:
this was a systematic review of studies published in the past ten years indexed in MEDLINE/Pubmed, MEDLINE/BVS; LILACS/BVS; IBECS/BVS; Cochrane/BVS, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycNET in three languages (Portuguese, Spanish, and English). Observational and experimental studies that assessed motor development and/or behavior and/or academic performance and whose target-population consisted of preterm children aged 8 to 10 years were included. Article quality was assessed by the Strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology (STROBE) and Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scales; articles that did not achieve a score of 80% or more were excluded.
Summary Of Findings:
the electronic search identified 3,153 articles, of which 33 were included based on the eligibility criteria. Only four studies found no effect of prematurity on the outcomes (two articles on behavior, one on motor performance and one on academic performance). Among the outcomes of interest, behavior was the most searched (20 articles, 61%), followed by academic performance (16 articles, 48%) and motor impairment (11 articles, 33%).
Conclusion:
premature infants are more susceptible to motor development, behavior and academic performance impairment when compared to term infants. These types of impairments, whose effects are manifested in the long term, can be prevented through early parental guidance, monitoring by specialized professionals, and interventions.
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