Effects of Correcting for Prematurity on Executive Function Scores of Children Born Very Preterm at School Age

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Very preterm birth (<32 weeks gestation or <1500g) impacts neurodevelopment.
• Executive functions (EF) are crucial for academic and social success.
• Assessing EF accurately in school-aged children born very preterm is vital.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if correcting for prematurity influences executive function scores in school-aged children born very preterm.
• To compare executive function performance between children born very preterm and controls, with and without age correction.
• To investigate if the degree of prematurity (e.g., <28 weeks gestation) affects the impact of age correction.

Main Methods:

• 142 children born very preterm (≤32 weeks gestation or ≤1500g) and 391 controls (aged 7-13 years) were assessed.
• Standardized neuropsychological tests were used to evaluate executive functions.
• Differences between corrected and uncorrected age scores were analyzed, comparing very preterm children to controls.

Main Results:

• Significant differences were observed between uncorrected and corrected executive function scores in very preterm children.
• Age correction attenuated the performance gap in executive functions between very preterm children and controls.
• Evidence suggested a potentially greater effect of age correction for extremely preterm infants (<28 weeks gestation).

Conclusions:

• Using corrected age may provide a more accurate assessment of executive function development in school-aged children born very preterm.
• Age correction is crucial for a precise understanding of executive function trajectories in this population.
• Implications for clinical practice and research regarding the assessment of very preterm children warrant further discussion.