Early Expressive and Receptive Language Development in Preterm vs Full-Term Children: A Meta-Analysis

Although studies suggest that preterm children are more likely to develop speech or language disorders later in life, language differences between preterm and full-term children in early childhood are not fully understood.

To investigate the early development of receptive and expressive language in preterm children compared with full-term children by conducting a meta-analysis.

Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCO were searched in January 2024.

Studies reporting receptive and/or expressive language using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, version 3 or 4, or vocabulary comprehension and/or production using the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory. Studies comparing preterm and full-term children in the first 18 months of corrected age.

Study outcomes were transformed into Hedges g and synthesized using robust variance estimation. Risk of bias was assessed by visual inspection of funnel plots and Egger's regression test.

Of 9464 records, a total of 34 studies using 21 individual datasets were eligible (N = 1825). Results indicate that preterm children score lower in receptive (g = -0.40; 95% CI, -0.60 to -0.19) and expressive (g = -0.44; 95% CI, -0.63 to -0.25) language. For receptive language, the difference increases with age and was higher for preterm children with lower gestational age and birth weight.

Only published studies and only English publications.

When in infancy and toddlerhood, preterm children score lower in receptive and expressive language. The results highlight the importance of early identification and intervention, especially for preterm children.