Cognitive development of preterm low birth weight children at 5 to 8 years old.
Prematurity and low birth weight have been considered to be important risk factors for cognitive development during early childhood; however, it has been suggested that the developmental delays disappear with age. Eighty-one preterm (< 38 weeks) low birth weight (< 2500 g) children between 5 and 8 years old from the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were compared with individually matched full-term normal birth weight children to investigate the catch-up delays in cognitive functioning including language and mathematics skills. Preterm children showed a significant delay in cognitive functioning only until 6 years old. Regression analyses showed that environmental factors accounted for more variation in cognitive development than did perinatal factors. In support of a transactional model, preterm children exhibited a self-righting tendency during their early childhood so that eventually environmental influences overshadowed biological influences.
Lee
H
H
Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53705.
Barratt
M S
MS
D001724:Birth Weight; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight / Q000523:psychology*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000523:psychology*; D007361:Intelligence Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007804:Language Development; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors