title: The predictive value of microcephaly during the first year of life for mental retardation at seven years.
abstract: Of 41 term infants surviving to seven years of age with head circumferences (HC) - 3 SD, 21 were mentally retarded (IQ less than or equal to 70) at seven years. HC - 2 SD was associated with mental retardation in 11 per cent of children. Socio-economic status did not affect mental outcome of children with HC - 3 SD, but higher socio-economic level was associated with better outcome for those with HC - 2 SD or who were normocephalic. Mental retardation in children with HC - 3 SD was more common in children with additional pathology. Of 25 children with no other pathology, one-quarter were mentally retarded at seven years; this was more common in children of normal birthweight. Disproportionate head-to-height ratio did not significantly affect outcome, although short stature was associated with less favourable outcome for those with HC - 2 SD or who were normocephalic.
authors.affiliation: Eurocat (European Registration of Congenital Anomalies), Department of Epidemiology, Catholic University of Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dolk
mesh_terms: D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000209:etiology; D002508:Cephalometry; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000209:etiology*; D008831:Microcephaly / Q000150:complications*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014888:Wechsler Scales