Motor impairment in very preterm-born children

OBJECTIVE: Very preterm born children are at risk for impairments in multiple neurodevelopmental domains, but outcomes vary between individuals. The present study aimed to distinguish subgroups with distinct profiles of functioning across motor, cognitive, behavioral, and psychosocial domains. These profiles were related to neonatal and social/environmental factors. METHOD: The sample included 1977 children born very preterm (<32 weeks' gestation) in 2011 from the French population-based EPIPAGE-2 cohort...

Introduction:  Prematurity (birth before 37 +0 weeks' gestation) is associated with wide-ranging neurodevelopmental impairment. Prognosis among moderate to late (32 +0 to <37 +0   weeks' gestation) preterm infants (MLPT) is better compared to their counterparts born very preterm (<32 +0  weeks' gestation). However the risk of developmental impairment among MLPT, who make up about 84% of all preterm infants, is 2-3 times higher when compared to infants born at term. Early interventions have aimed to improve outcomes in preterm infants generally, but there are limited data on their need and effect in MLPT specifically...

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Extra-uterine growth restriction (EUGR) is common among very preterm (VPT) infants and has been associated with impaired neurodevelopment. Some research suggests that adverse effects of EUGR may be more severe in boys. We investigated EUGR and neurodevelopment at 2 years of corrected age (CA) by sex in a VPT birth cohort. METHODS: Data come from a population-based cohort of children born <32 weeks' gestation from 11 European countries and followed up at 2 years CA...

Objective: To investigate the rate and stability of impairments in children born preterm by assessing (1) early and school-age outcome in four developmental domains and (2) individual changes in outcome at both timepoints. Design: Prospective, longitudinal cohort study in children born in 2006-2007, <32 weeks' gestation. Follow-up at 2 and 10 years of age included standardized neurological, motor, cognitive and behavioral assessments. Children were categorized as having no, mild or moderate-severe impairment in these four domains...

Individuals born very preterm (<32 weeks gestation) have altered brain growth and white matter maturation relative to their full-term peers, and approximately 30% will experience neurodevelopmental impairment. We investigated the relationship between neurodevelopmental impairment and MRI measures of white matter microstructure and brain volume. Children born before 30 weeks' gestation or who had very low birthweight (< 1500 g) underwent neurodevelopmental assessment and MRI at age 7 years as part of the PIANO study, a New Zealand-based cohort study...

The neurophysiological mechanisms underlying executive function deficits in very preterm born children still remain unclear. Moreover, evidence on factors that can be modified by behavior and exert an influence on these deficits is lacking. The present case-control study examined the association between very preterm birth and neurophysiological indices of response inhibition (i.e. the N200-P300 complex) as well as the potential mediation of this association by aspects of physical fitness. 54 children born very preterm completed a submaximal cycling ergometer test and a motor skill test battery...

BACKGROUND: Preterm infants are at risk for functional impairments in motor, cognitive, and behavioral development that may persist into childhood. The aim of this study was to determine the co-occurrence of cognitive impairments in multiple cognitive domains at school age in very preterm born children compared to term-born children. METHODS: Comparative study including 60 very preterm-born children (gestational age ≤ 32 weeks) and 120 term-born controls...

AIM: To study the association between the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE) at age 2 years and neurocognition at age 11 years in children born very preterm. We hypothesized that the HINE at 2 years would be associated with neurocognition, that is, neurological, motor, and cognitive outcomes at 11 years. METHOD: A total of 174 children (mean gestational age 29.0wks, SD 2.7; minimum 23.0, maximum 35.9; 95 [55%] males, 79 [45%] females) born very preterm (birthweight ≤1500g/gestational age <32wks), were included in a prospective cohort recruited from 2001 to 2006 in Turku, Finland...

BACKGROUND: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a non-progressive disorder of posture and movement caused by prenatal or perinatal lesions of the brain. Children with CP are also at increased risk of other disabilities, for example, intellectual disability. Previous studies suggest the risk of intellectual disability varies in complex ways according to the type of motor impairment and perinatal factors such as gestational age. OBJECTIVE: To determine the patterns of risk of intellectual disability in children with spastic CP...

OBJECTIVE: To assess associations between neonatal brain injury assessed by magnetic resonance imaging and cognitive, motor, and behavioral outcomes at 2 and 10 years of age, in a longitudinal cohort of children born very preterm. STUDY DESIGN: There were 112 children born at <32 weeks of gestation who participated in a longitudinal prospective study on brain injury and neurodevelopmental outcome. Using the Kidokoro score, neonatal brain injury and altered brain growth in white matter, cortical and deep gray matter, and the cerebellum were assessed...

BACKGROUND: Identifying altered motor development at an early stage is crucial for infants born extremely preterm (EPT), as they face a high risk of long-term neurodevelopmental impairment. The Prechtl General Movement Assessment (GMA), including the Motor Optimality Score Revised (MOS-R), can provide important insights into these infants' later neurodevelopmental function. AIMS: To compare age-specific movements and postures in infants born EPT compared to term-born controls at three months corrected age...

AIM: We compared preschool age children born very preterm with term-born controls to: (1) understand the association between very preterm birth and community participation, (2) determine if motor impairment or social risk affect participation differently between groups, and (3) understand environmental barriers and supports to participation for parents. METHOD: Forty-eight children born very preterm (<30wks' gestation; 22 males, 26 females) and 96 controls (47 males, 49 females) were assessed at 4 to 5 years' corrected age for community participation using the Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure...

OBJECTIVE: To examine the stability of developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD) throughout childhood in children born very preterm and term. Further, in the VPT group, to compare perinatal variables and neurobehavioral outcomes at 13 years for children with persisting DCD and those with typical motor development. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study of 180 VPT and 73 term-born children assessed at five, seven and/or 13-years using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, with scores ≤16th centile used to classify DCD...

INTRODUCTION: Very preterm children are at a high risk for neurological impairment, especially those with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). The main goal of this study was to describe the neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) at 2 years of corrected age in children born before 29 weeks' gestation between 2010 and 2015 and affected by BPD at 28 days of life. We also searched for risk factors associated with NDI, especially postnatal steroid (PNS) administration. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a retrospective study comprising a cohort of children hospitalized at the university hospital in Grenoble, born before 29 weeks' gestation between 2010 and 2015, and included in the monitoring network "Naitre et Devenir" (RND)...

Infants born very preterm (<32 weeks of gestation) show distinct cognitive and motor problems throughout childhood. This study aims 1) to investigate differences in the structural connectome between very preterm born children and term born controls at school-age, and 2) to examine the relationship of the structural connectome with cognitive and motor problems. This study included 29 very preterm (12 males, mean age 8.6 years) and 52 term born peers (25 males, mean age 8.7 years). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children and Movement Assessment Battery for Children were used...

Attention problems are common in school-age children born very preterm (VPT; < 32 weeks gestational age), but the contribution of aberrant functional brain connectivity to these problems is not known. As part of a prospective longitudinal study, brain functional connectivity (fc) was assessed alongside behavioral measures of selective, sustained, and executive attention in 58 VPT and 65 full-term (FT) born children at corrected-age 12 years. VPT children had poorer sustained, shifting, and divided attention than FT children...

BACKGROUND: Perinatal events may alter psychosexual development. We aimed to assess whether a preterm birth at very low birth weight (VLBW; <1500 g) or antenatal synthetic glucocorticoids (sGC) given to the mother are associated with altered sex-typical behavior in childhood. METHODS: Sex-typical behavior was assessed using the Pre-school Activities Inventory (PSAI) at the mean age of 4.9 years (SD 1.6) in 879 children, of whom 143 were preterm with VLBW (PT <1500 g, all exposed to sGC), 282 were preterm with birth weight ≥1500 g (PT ≥1500 g, 171 exposed to sGC), and 454 were full term (FT, 166 exposed to sGC)...

AIM: To describe maternal employment and the socio-economic status of the household up to 8 years after the very preterm birth of a child, according to the presence and type of motor or cognitive impairment. METHOD: A total of 1885 families from the French EPIPAGE cohort of children who were born very preterm between 1997 and 1998 were included. Motor and cognitive impairments were identified in children between the ages of 2 and 8 years in 770 families and were classified according to type...

Objective: To evaluate the rate of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and its correlation to cognition and self-experienced health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children born very preterm. Design: Prospective follow-up study. Setting: Regional population of children born very preterm in Turku University Hospital, Finland, in 2001-2006. Patients: A total of 170 children born very preterm were followed up until 11 years of age...

BACKGROUND: The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition (Movement ABC-2) is widely used to assess children's motor function, yet there is a lack of normative data for many countries. AIMS: To assess the extent to which the application of different population reference norms for the Movement ABC-2 affects the classification and prevalence of motor impairment. DESIGN: Data were obtained from two Portuguese regions participating in the Screening to Improve Health in Very Preterm Infants in Europe (SHIPS) Study, which was a five year follow-up of a cohort of children born at <32 weeks' gestation in 2011-2012 in 19 regions in 11 European countries...