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Behaviour and development in 24-month-old moderately preterm toddlers

Marjanneke de Jong1, Marjolein Verhoeven1, Carole A Lasham2

  • 1Department of Child and Adolescent Studies, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Archives of Disease in Childhood
|January 16, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Moderately preterm children show developmental delays in cognition, communication, and motor skills by age two, even after correcting for prematurity. These children also exhibit more internalizing behavior problems compared to their term-born peers.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric developmental neuroscience
  • Neonatal and perinatal medicine

Background:

  • Moderately preterm children (32-36+6 weeks gestation) face risks for later cognitive and behavioral issues.
  • Early identification of developmental trajectories in preterm populations is crucial for timely intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if cognitive and behavioral problems are evident in moderately preterm children at 2 years of age.
  • To compare developmental outcomes between moderately preterm and term-born children at 24 months corrected age.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study assessing 116 moderately preterm and 99 term-born infants at 24 months corrected age.
  • Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (Bayley-III-NL) used for developmental assessment.
  • Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) administered to evaluate behavioral problems.

Main Results:

  • Uncorrected for prematurity, moderately preterm children scored lower in cognition, fine motor, gross motor, and receptive/expressive communication.
  • A significant difference was observed in receptive communication skills even when age was corrected for prematurity.
  • Moderately preterm children exhibited a higher prevalence of gross motor delays and more internalizing behaviors.

Conclusions:

  • Developmental disparities in cognition, communication, and motor skills exist in moderately preterm children by age two, particularly when chronological age is considered.
  • While some differences persist after age correction, internalizing behaviors are notably more prevalent in this cohort.
  • These findings underscore the need for early monitoring and support for moderately preterm infants.
Abstract

Keywords:
Bayley-III-NLCBCLbehaviourdevelopmentmoderately preterm

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