NEUROPSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH LIVER DISEASES: SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WITH META-ANALYSIS

The nature of liver disease, the evolutionary course and duration of liver diseases, as well as the degree of severity and disability can trigger multiple outcomes with repercussions on neuromotor acquisition and development.

To systematically review and conduct a meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of liver disease on the neuropsychomotor development of children and adolescents with their native livers and those who underwent liver transplantation.

Observational studies published since the early 1980s until June 2019 were sought in the PubMed and Scopus databases. An α value of 0.05 was considered significant. The statistical heterogeneity of the treatment effect between the studies was assessed by the Cochran's Q test and the I2 inconsistency test, in which values above 25 and 50% were considered indicative of moderate and high heterogeneity, respectively. Analyses were performed with Review Manager 5.3.

Twenty-five studies met the eligibility criteria, including 909 children and adolescents with liver disease. Meta-analyses showed deficits in total IQ -0.41 (95%CI: -0.51 to -0.32; N: 9,973), verbal IQ -0.38 (95%CI: -0.57 to -0.18; N: 10,284) and receptive language -0.85 (95%CI: -1.16 to -0.53; N: 921) in liver transplantation, and those with native livers who had symptoms early had total and verbal IQ scores (85±8.8; 86.3±10.6 respectively) lower than the scores of those with late manifestations (99.5±13.8; 96.2±9.2). Gross motor skill was reduced -46.29 (95%CI: -81.55 to -11.03; N: 3,746).

Acute or chronic liver disease can cause declines in cognitive, motor and language functions. Although the scores improve after liver transplantation, children remain below average when compared to healthy children.