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Infant motor behaviour and functional and cognitive outcome at school-age: A follow-up study in very high-risk
Elisabeth J M Straathof1, Kirsten R Heineman2, Sacha La Bastide-van Gemert3
1University of Groningen, Department of Paediatrics - Division of Developmental Neurology, University Medical Center Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ Groningen, the Netherlands.
Insights
Infant Motor Profile (IMP) scores in early life predict later functional and cognitive outcomes in very high risk (VHR) children. Changes in IMP scores over time indicate a child's ability to overcome early neurodevelopmental deficits.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Neurorehabilitation
Background:
- Infants at very high risk (VHR), often due to brain lesions, typically exhibit impaired motor development.
- The Infant Motor Profile (IMP) is a validated tool for assessing and tracking infant motor behavior longitudinally.
- VHR infants may either improve or worsen in their neurodevelopmental trajectory over time.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between early Infant Motor Profile (IMP) trajectories and later school-age functional and cognitive outcomes in very high risk (VHR) children.
- To determine if initial IMP scores and their rates of change predict long-term developmental outcomes.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal study involving 31 VHR children with multiple IMP assessments during infancy.
- Children were reassessed at school-age (7-10 years) using functional (Vineland-II) and cognitive (RAKIT 2) measures.
- Multivariable linear regression analyses were employed to examine associations between IMP trajectories and outcomes.
Main Results:
- Initial IMP scores (total, variation, performance) and their rates of change were significantly associated with better functional outcomes at school-age, even after adjusting for covariates.
- Positive rates of change in IMP variation scores showed a significant association with improved cognitive outcomes.
- The findings highlight the predictive power of early motor assessments for later development.
Conclusions:
- Infant Motor Profile (IMP) trajectories in early infancy are associated with functional outcomes at school-age in very high risk (VHR) children.
- The rate of change in IMP scores reflects the capacity of VHR infants to improve or decline in their neurodevelopmental trajectory.
- Early motor assessment using IMP can provide valuable insights into long-term developmental prognosis for VHR infants.
Background:
The Infant Motor Profile (IMP) is an appropriate tool to assess and monitor infant motor behaviour over time. Infants at very high risk (VHR) due to a lesion of the brain generally show impaired motor development. They may grow into or out of their neurodevelopmental deficit.
Aims:
Evaluate associations between IMP-trajectories, summarised by IMP-scores in early infancy and rates of change, and functional and cognitive outcome at school-age in VHR-children.
Study Design:
Longitudinal study.
Subjects:
31 VHR-children, mainly due to a brain lesion, who had multiple IMP-assessments during infancy, were re-assessed at 7-10 years (school-age).
Outcome Measures:
Functional outcome was assessed with the Vineland-II, cognition with RAKIT 2. Associations between IMP-trajectories and outcome were tested by multivariable linear regression analyses.
Results:
When corrected for sex, maternal education and follow-up age, initial scores of total IMP, variation and performance domains, as well as their rates of change were associated with better functional outcome (unstandardised coefficients [95% CI]): 36.44 [19.60-53.28], 33.46 [17.43-49.49], 16.52 [7.58-25.46], and 513.15 [262.51-763.79], 356.70 [148.24-565.15], and 269 [130.57-407.43], respectively. Positive rates of change in variation scores were associated with better cognition at school-age: 34.81 [16.58-53.03].
Conclusion:
Our study indicated that in VHR-children IMP-trajectories were associated with functional outcome at school-age, and to a minor extent also with cognition. Initial IMP-scores presumably reflect the effect of an early brain lesion on brain functioning, whereas IMP rate of change reflects whether infants are able to grow into or out of their initial neurodevelopmental deficit.
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