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Updated: Jul 16, 2025

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
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Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale

Published on: August 25, 2014

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Correlation of NICU anthropometry in extremely preterm infants with brain development and language scores at early

Ting Ting Fu1,2, Maria E Barnes-Davis3,4, Hisako Fujiwara4,5

  • 1Division of Neonatology, Perinatal Institute, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, MLC 7009, Cincinnati, OH, 45229-3026, USA. tingting.fu@cchmc.org.

Scientific Reports
|September 15, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) growth in extremely preterm infants impacts brain development. While early growth correlates with language, later brain structure associations suggest lasting effects on neurodevelopment.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Pediatrics
  • Neonatology

Background:

  • Infant growth in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is linked to brain development and early language skills.
  • Long-term effects of NICU growth on school-age brain metrics and neurodevelopment remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between NICU growth and brain structure/neurodevelopmental outcomes in extremely preterm children up to school age.
  • To determine if early growth relationships with language scores persist and if growth correlates with cortical metrics.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 42 extremely preterm infants (gestation < 28 weeks).
  • Regression analyses examined relationships between infant growth (birth, 36 weeks postmenstrual age) and neurodevelopmental/language assessments (ages 2 and 4-6 years).
  • Neuroimaging biomarkers (T1-weighted MRI) were analyzed at 4-6 years.

Main Results:

  • Infant length at birth and 36 weeks postmenstrual age positively correlated with language scores at age 2.
  • No growth metrics correlated with neurodevelopmental assessments at 4-6 years.
  • Weight and head circumference at 36 weeks postmenstrual age correlated with increased total brain volume and decreased global cortical thickness at 4-6 years. Head circumference associations remained significant after adjustments.
  • Right temporal cortical thickness was associated with receptive language at 4-6 years.

Conclusions:

  • NICU growth may have lasting effects on brain development in extremely preterm children.
  • Specific growth parameters in the NICU are associated with brain volume and cortical thickness later in childhood.
  • Head circumference and right temporal cortical thickness show potential as biomarkers for neurodevelopmental outcomes.

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