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Gait characteristics in 6-year-old children born extremely preterm

Yuji Ito1,2, Yuichiro Sugiyama3,4, Tadashi Ito5

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-Cho, Showa-Ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 466-8550, Japan. ito.yuji.j6@f.mail.nagoya-u.ac.jp.

European Journal of Pediatrics
|November 11, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Children born extremely preterm (EP) show motor impairments including poor gait quality, balance, and coordination. Lower birth weight and weight gain are linked to these deficits in school-aged children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Neurology
  • Developmental Biology

Background:

  • Developmental coordination disorders affect 20-50% of extremely preterm (EP) born children.
  • EP born individuals often exhibit reduced muscle strength throughout life.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize motor impairments in 6-year-old children born EP.
  • To investigate the relationship between perinatal factors and motor outcomes in EP children.

Main Methods:

  • Compared motor function (balance, strength, coordination, gait quality) in EP children (n=10) vs. term-born controls (n=30).
  • Utilized one-leg standing, two-step test, grip strength, five-times sit-to-stand, DCD Questionnaire, and 3D gait analysis (Gait Deviation Index).
  • Analyzed correlations between motor outcomes and perinatal factors (birth weight, weight at 36 weeks) in the EP group.

Main Results:

  • EP children had poorer balance, reduced grip strength, and lower DCD Questionnaire scores.
  • EP children demonstrated decreased gait quality (lower GDI) and increased gait asymmetry.
  • Birth weight positively correlated with GDI; weight at 36 weeks correlated with GDI and DCD scores.

Conclusions:

  • Extremely preterm birth is associated with impaired gait quality, asymmetry, muscle strength, balance, and coordination traits.
  • Lower birth weight and suboptimal weight gain may contribute to motor deficits and DCD traits in school-aged EP children.

Keywords:
Balance functionDevelopmental coordination disorderExtremely pretermGait deviation indexMuscle strength

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