Very preterm birth is associated with disabilities in multiple developmental domains.
OBJECTIVE
Follow-up studies in very preterm children usually present outcome for separate developmental domains. Presence of disabilities in more than one developmental domain will show a more serious outcome picture for extreme preterm infants and may be related to a different degree of perinatal problems.


METHODS
At 5.5 years corrected age, outcome in the neurological, motor, cognitive, and behavioral domain was studied in 157 children born < 30 weeks gestation. The children were divided into a normal, a single, or a multiple disability group. Group differences in background, clinical characteristics, and neurodevelopmental outcome at 2 years were evaluated.


RESULTS
Thirty-nine percent had a normal developmental outcome, 17% had a single disability, and 44% had multiple disabilities. Multiple disabilities were associated with lower birth weight, BPD, and difficulties according to neurodevelopmental assessments at 2 years.


CONCLUSIONS
Assessments of different developmental domains show that most very preterm children had multiple disabilities.
van Baar
Anneloes L
AL
Department of Psychology and Health, Pediatric Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands. a.vanbaar@uvt.nl
van Wassenaer
Aleid G
AG
Briët
Judy M
JM
Dekker
Friedo W
FW
Kok
Joke H
JH
D000124:Achievement; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D011596:Psychomotor Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*