title: Neurodevelopment of children born very preterm and free of severe disabilities: the Nord-Pas de Calais Epipage cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the development of very preterm children free of cerebral palsy or severe sensory impairment in the domains of gross and fine motor functions, language and sociability at a corrected age of 2 years; to identify factors associated with performances in each domain.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 347 children born in 1997 before 33 weeks of gestation, part of the EPIPAGE population-based cohort study, had their psychomotor development assessed with the Brunet-Lezine scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study population had a mean gestational age of 30.1 +/- 2.0 weeks. Lower developmental quotients (DQ) were observed in the study group compared to the reference sample (96 +/- 13 vs 104 +/- 8, p < 0.01). Fine motor function, language and sociability were all affected with a p value <0.01. Multivariate analysis showed that duration of intubation and parents' educational and occupational levels were the only variables significantly related to each developmental domain (p < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children very preterm and free of severe disabilities had mild delays in multiple areas of development. The mechanisms by which neonatal factors played a role need further investigation. However socioeconomic status had a great impact on development and our results underline the need for improved support of socioeconomically disadvantaged parents after a preterm birth.
authors.affiliation: .Clinique de pédiatrie Saint Antoine, Hôpital Saint Vincent de Paul, boulevard de Belfort, Lille cedex, France. charkaluk.marie-laure@ghicl.net
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Charkaluk
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Truffert
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fily
authors.forename: P Y
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Ancel
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pierrat
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002657:Child Development; D002663:Child Language; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000254:growth & development / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012307:Risk Factors; D012919:Social Behavior; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors