This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (116)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • Neurology  • Cognitive Disorders  • Pediatrics  • Child Development  • Alert me on articles by topic

Peter Anderson, PhD; Lex W. Doyle, MD, FRACP; and the Victorian Infant Collaborative Study Group

JAMA. 2003;289:3264-3272.

Context  The outcome into school age of regional cohorts of children born in the 1990s with birth weights less than 1000 g (extremely low birth weight, ELBW) or earlier than 28 weeks' gestation (very preterm) is not known.

Objective  To determine the cognitive, educational, and behavioral outcome of ELBW or very preterm infants born in the 1990s compared with normal birth weight (NBW) controls.

Design  Regional cohort study.

Setting  Victoria, Australia.

Participants  The ELBW or very preterm cohort was composed of 298 consecutive survivors born during 1991-1992. The NBW cohort was composed of 262 randomly selected children with birth weights of more than 2499 g.

Main Outcome Measures  Cognitive ability, educational progress, and behavioral problems.

Results  The follow-up rates from birth to 8 years of age for survivors were 92.3% (275/298) for the ELBW or very preterm cohort and 85.1% (223/262) for the NBW cohort. The ELBW or very preterm children scored significantly below NBW controls on full-scale IQ (mean difference, –9.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], –12.1 to –6.7; P<.001) and indices of verbal comprehension (mean difference, –6.8; 95% CI, –9.5 to –4.2; P<.001), perceptual organization (mean difference, –9.9; 95% CI, –12.7 to –7.2; P<.001), freedom from distractibility (mean difference, –8.1; 95% CI, –10.8 to –5.5; P<.001), and processing speed (mean difference, –6.7; 95% CI, –9.4 to –4.0; P<.001). The ELBW or very preterm children performed significantly worse than the NBW cohort on tests of reading (mean difference, –6.7; 95% CI, –9.5 to –3.9; P<.001), spelling (mean difference, –5.6; 95% CI, –8.0 to –3.3; P<.001), and arithmetic (mean difference, –8.8; 95% CI, –11.3 to –6.2; P<.001). Attentional difficulties, internalizing behavior problems, and immature adaptive skills were more prevalent in the ELBW or very preterm cohort.

Conclusion  School-aged ELBW or very preterm children born in the 1990s continue to display cognitive, educational, and behavioral impairments.

Author Affiliations: Royal Women's Hospital (Drs Anderson and Doyle), Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (Dr Anderson), and University of Melbourne (Dr Doyle), Melbourne, Australia.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Preterm infant hippocampal volumes correlate with later working memory deficits
Beauchamp et al.
Brain 2008;0:awn227v1-awn227.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Stability of Psychiatric Outcomes of Low Birth Weight: A Longitudinal Investigation
Bohnert and Breslau
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2008;65:1080-1086.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Pervasive Behavior Problems at 6 Years of Age in a Total-Population Sample of Children Born at <=25 Weeks of Gestation
Samara et al.
Pediatrics 2008;122:562-573.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Young Adults With Very Low Birth Weight: Leaving the Parental Home and Sexual Relationships--Helsinki Study of Very Low Birth Weight Adults
Kajantie et al.
Pediatrics 2008;122:e62-e72.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Neurodevelopmental Outcome of Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants With Posthemorrhagic Hydrocephalus Requiring Shunt Insertion
Adams-Chapman et al.
Pediatrics 2008;121:e1167-e1177.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Management and Outcomes of Very Low Birth Weight
Eichenwald and Stark
NEJM 2008;358:1700-1711.
FULL TEXT  

Movement Training Advances the Emergence of Reaching in Infants Born at Less Than 33 Weeks of Gestational Age: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Heathcock et al.
ptjournal 2008;88:310-322.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Minor Neuromotor Dysfunctions at Age 5 Years in Prematurely Born Children: The EPIPAGE Study
Arnaud et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2007;161:1053-1061.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Histologic Chorioamnionitis and Preterm Delivery
Holzman et al.
Am J Epidemiol 2007;166:786-794.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Mental Health and Social Competencies of 10- to 12-Year-Old Children Born at 23 to 25 Weeks of Gestation in the 1990s: A Swedish National Prospective Follow-up Study
Farooqi et al.
Pediatrics 2007;120:118-133.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Oculomotor Control in Children Who Were Born Very Prematurely
Newsham et al.
IOVS 2007;48:2595-2601.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Perinatal risk factors altering regional brain structure in the preterm infant
Thompson et al.
Brain 2007;130:667-677.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Chronic Conditions, Functional Limitations, and Special Health Care Needs in 10- to 12-Year-Old Children Born at 23 to 25 Weeks' Gestation in the 1990s: A Swedish National Prospective Follow-up Study
Farooqi et al.
Pediatrics 2006;118:e1466-e1477.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Impact of Prenatal and/or Postnatal Growth Problems in Low Birth Weight Preterm Infants on School-Age Outcomes: An 8-Year Longitudinal Evaluation
Casey et al.
Pediatrics 2006;118:1078-1086.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Maternal Depression and Violence Exposure: Double Jeopardy for Child School Functioning
Silverstein et al.
Pediatrics 2006;118:e792-e800.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Neonatal MRI to Predict Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Preterm Infants.
Woodward et al.
NEJM 2006;355:685-694.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Mother-Child Interaction as a Predictor of Mastery Motivation in Children with Disabilities Born Preterm
Young and Hauser-Cram
Journal of Early Intervention 2006;28:252-263.
ABSTRACT  

Neuropsychological Outcome of Children With Intrauterine Growth Restriction: A 9-Year Prospective Study
Geva et al.
Pediatrics 2006;118:91-100.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Children at Risk for Special Health Care Needs
Newacheck et al.
Pediatrics 2006;118:334-342.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Early Dyadic Patterns of Mother-Infant Interactions and Outcomes of Prematurity at 18 Months
Forcada-Guex et al.
Pediatrics 2006;118:e107-e114.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Fetal Growth and Childhood Behavioral Problems: Results from the ALSPAC Cohort
Wiles et al.
Am J Epidemiol 2006;163:829-837.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Usefulness of an early neurofunctional assessment in predicting neurodevelopmental outcome in very low birthweight infants.
Picciolini et al.
Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2006;91:F111-F117.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Transition of Extremely Low-Birth-Weight Infants From Adolescence to Young Adulthood: Comparison With Normal Birth-Weight Controls
Saigal et al.
JAMA 2006;295:667-675.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Medical Staff Guidelines for Periviability Pregnancy Counseling and Medical Treatment of Extremely Premature Infants
Kaempf et al.
Pediatrics 2006;117:22-29.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Bed-wetting and Its Association With Developmental Milestones in Early Childhood
Touchette et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2005;159:1129-1134.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Neurodevelopmental Outcome at 5 Years of Age of a National Cohort of Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants Who Were Born in 1996-1997
Mikkola et al.
Pediatrics 2005;116:1391-1400.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Improved neurosensory outcome at 8 years of age of extremely low birthweight children born in Victoria over three distinct eras
Doyle et al.
Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2005;90:F484-F488.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Chronic Conditions, Functional Limitations, and Special Health Care Needs of School-aged Children Born With Extremely Low-Birth-Weight in the 1990s
Hack et al.
JAMA 2005;294:318-325.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Outcomes for Extremely Low-Birth-Weight Infants: Disappointing News
Tyson and Saigal
JAMA 2005;294:371-373.
FULL TEXT  

Subclinical Hypothyroidism and Pregnancy Outcomes
Casey et al.
Obstet Gynecol 2005;105:239-245.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Does a Triplet Birth Pose a Special Risk for Infant Development? Assessing Cognitive Development in Relation to Intrauterine Growth and Mother-Infant Interaction Across the First 2 Years
Feldman and Eidelman
Pediatrics 2005;115:443-452.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Multiple gestation and infertility treatment: registration, reflection and reaction--the Belgian project
Ombelet et al.
Hum Reprod Update 2005;11:3-14.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Developmental Dyscalculia
Shalev
J Child Neurol 2004;19:765-771.
ABSTRACT  

The Performance of Infants Born Preterm and Full-term in the Mobile Paradigm: Learning and Memory
Heathcock et al.
ptjournal 2004;84:808-821.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

A Girl with a Birth Weight of 280 g, Now 14 Years Old
Muraskas et al.
NEJM 2004;351:836-837.
FULL TEXT  

Executive Functioning in School-Aged Children Who Were Born Very Preterm or With Extremely Low Birth Weight in the 1990s
Anderson et al.
Pediatrics 2004;114:50-57.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Neonatal Procedural Pain and Preterm Infant Cortisol Response to Novelty at 8 Months
Grunau et al.
Pediatrics 2004;114:e77-e84.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Other articles noted: 25 Jul 03 to 7 Nov 03
Evid. Based Nurs. 2004;7:e1-1.
FULL TEXT  

Safety of Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines: A Two-Phased Study of Computerized Health Maintenance Organization Databases
Verstraeten et al.
Pediatrics 2003;112:1039-1048.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

ABSTRACTS
Obstet Gynecol 2003;102:869-872.
FULL TEXT  

Extremely Low-Birth-Weight Infants Still at Risk for Cognitive Deficits
JWatch General 2003;2003:2-2.
FULL TEXT