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[Evaluation of coordination and balance in preterm children]
Cristina Rodríguez Fernández1, Daniel Mata Zubillaga2, Luis Miguel Rodríguez Fernández3
1Servicio de Pediatría, Complejo Asistencial Universitario de León, León, España.
Insights
Preterm children often show coordination and balance issues, with hand dexterity being particularly affected. However, balance may be comparable to term-born children without neurological complications.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Preterm children, even without obvious neurological issues, may experience coordination and balance difficulties in school years.
- The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2) and stabilometric platforms are key tools for assessing coordination and balance, respectively.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate motor skills, specifically coordination and balance, in preterm children aged 7-10 years.
- To compare motor performance between preterm children and healthy term-born controls.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study included 89 children (30 preterm ≤1,500g, 29 preterm >1,500g, 30 controls).
- Participants underwent the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2) and static balance analysis using a stabilometric platform.
Main Results:
- Preterm children scored lower on MABC-2 hand dexterity and overall tests compared to controls, irrespective of birth weight.
- Lower gestational age correlated with poorer hand dexterity and total MABC-2 scores.
- Static balance, assessed by the stabilometric platform, showed no significant differences between preterm and term children.
Conclusions:
- Over 10% of preterm and term children may have or be at risk for coordination disorders, as identified by MABC-2.
- Preterm children may exhibit challenges in hand dexterity, while balance can be comparable to term-born peers if no neurological comorbidities are present.
Introduction:
Recent studies show that many preterm children without apparent neurological sequelae present some difficulties in different areas, such as coordination or balance during their school years. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2) has demonstrated to be a useful tool to validate the coordination, while the stabilometric platform was the reference standard test for validating the balance.
Patients And Method:
Case-control study carried out on preterm children from 7 to 10 years old and healthy term infant controls of the same ages. The same age band of MABC-2 was applied and the static balance by the stabilometric platform was analysed.
Results:
A total of 89 subjects were included, 30 preterm children≤1,500g birthweight, 29 preterm children>1,500g birthweight, and 30 controls. Preterm children obtained the lowest scores on an overall basis in hand dexterity and balance tests in MABC-2, regardless of their birthweight. Lower gestational age was associated with poorer outcomes in hand dexterity and total scores in MABC-2. Balance results were similar using the stabilometric platform, regardless of prematurity.
Conclusions:
A little more than 10% preterm and term children could have coordination disorders or be at risk of developing them using the MABC-2. Despite the visual-motor coordination being similar, preterm children could face greater difficulties in hand dexterity while, in the absence of neurological comorbidity, preterm and term children balance could be comparable.
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