Association between General Movements Assessment and Later Motor Delay (excluding Cerebral Palsy) in Low-Birth-Weight
Hirotaka Gima1, Tomohiko Nakamura2
1Department of Physical Therapy, Graduate School of Human Health Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 7-2-10 Higashi-Ogu, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo 116-8551, Japan.
Insights
General movements (GMs) assessment in infancy can predict later motor delays in low-birth-weight (LBW) infants. Aberrant GMs are linked to poorer gross motor development, suggesting GMs as a tool for identifying developmental coordination disorder (DCD) risk.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Neuroscience
- Movement Science
Background:
- Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is common in low-birth-weight (LBW) infants.
- General movements (GMs) assessment is a valuable tool for predicting developmental disorders, including cerebral palsy (CP).
- The relationship between early GMs and later motor development in LBW infants requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between aberrant general movements (GMs) in early infancy and subsequent motor development in low-birth-weight (LBW) infants.
- To determine if GMs assessment can predict developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in this population.
- To identify specific motor skills affected by aberrant GMs.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of LBW infants with GMs assessed at 9-20 weeks post-term.
- Developmental quotient (DQ) assessed at 3 years (Kyoto Scale) and intelligence quotient (IQ) at 6 years.
- Participants with normal IQs and no CP diagnosis were categorized into normal (n=39) and aberrant (n=12) GMs groups for comparison.
Main Results:
- Infants with aberrant GMs showed significantly lower DQ in the 'postural-motor domain'.
- Aberrant GMs group infants were more likely to struggle with 'climbing stairs with alternating legs' and 'jumping from a platform'.
- GMs aberrancy was associated with delayed gross motor development, even in typically developing children.
Conclusions:
- Aberrant general movements in early infancy are linked to delayed gross motor development in low-birth-weight infants.
- The general movements assessment shows potential for predicting developmental coordination disorder (DCD) in LBW infants.
- Early identification of GMs abnormalities may facilitate timely intervention for motor delays.
Abstract:
The general movements (GMs) assessment is useful for the prediction of cerebral palsy (CP) and other developmental disorders. Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is highly prevalent in low-birth-weight (LBW) infants. We investigated the association between aberrant GMs during early infancy and later motor development in LBW infants. The study included infants who fulfilled the following criteria: GMs assessed at 9-20 weeks post-term age; developmental quotient (DQ) assessed at 3 years of age using the Kyoto Scale; intelligence quotient (IQ) assessed at 6 years of age. Participants with normal IQs at 6 years of age without a diagnosis of CP (14 males and 37 females, 23-36 weeks gestation with birth weights of 492-1498 g) were categorized into normal (n = 39) and aberrant (n = 12) groups based on GMs assessment; DQ was compared between the groups. We investigated the items in the DQ assessment and found that the infants in the aberrant group were more frequently unable to perform. Infants in the aberrant group showed a significantly lower DQ in the 'postural-motor domain', and were more frequently unable to 'climb the stairs with alternating legs' and 'Jump from a 15-20 cm platform'. This study highlights that GMs aberrancy in early infancy is associated with a delayed gross motor development, even in children with a typical development. The GMs assessment may be useful for the prediction of DCD.
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