title: Functional outcomes and participation in young adulthood for very preterm and very low birth weight infants: the Dutch Project on Preterm and Small for Gestational Age Infants at 19 years of age.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Young adults who were born very preterm or with a very low birth weight remain at risk for physical and neurodevelopmental problems and lower academic achievement scores. Data, however, are scarce, hospital based, mostly done in small populations, and need additional confirmation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Infants who were born at < 32 weeks of gestation and/or with a birth weight of < 1500 g in The Netherlands in 1983 (Project on Preterm and Small for Gestational Age Infants) were reexamined at age 19. Outcomes were adjusted for nonrespondents using multiple imputation and categorized into none, mild, moderate, or severe problems.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 959 surviving young adults, 74% were assessed and/or completed the questionnaires. Moderate or severe problems were present in 4.3% for cognition, 1.8% for hearing, 1.9% for vision, and 8.1% for neuromotor functioning. Using the Health Utility Index and the London Handicap Scale, we found 2.0% and 4.5%, respectively, of the young adults to have > or = 3 affected areas in activities and participation. Special education or lesser level was completed by 24%, and 7.6% neither had a paid job nor followed any education. Overall, 31.7% had > or = 1 moderate or severe problems in the assessed areas.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A total of 12.6% of young adults who were born very preterm and/or with a very low birth weight had moderate or severe problems in cognitive or neurosensory functioning. Compared with the general Dutch population, twice as many young adults who were born very preterm and/or with a very low birth weight were poorly educated, and 3 times as many were neither employed nor in school at age 19.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Elysée T M
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Hille
authors.forename: Nynke
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Weisglas-Kuperus
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: van Goudoever
authors.forename: Gert W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Jacobusse
authors.forename: Martina H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Ens-Dokkum
authors.forename: Laila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: de Groot
authors.forename: Jan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wit
authors.forename: Wil B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Geven
authors.forename: Joke H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kok
authors.forename: Martin J K
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: de Kleine
authors.forename: Louis A A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Kollée
authors.forename: A L M
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Mulder
authors.forename: H L M
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: van Straaten
authors.forename: Linda S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: de Vries
authors.forename: Mirjam M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: van Weissenbruch
authors.forename: S Pauline
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Verloove-Vanhorick
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004519:Education, Special / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004522:Educational Status; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007235:Infant, Premature, Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology