title: Developmental outcomes of late-preterm infants at 2 and 4 years.
abstract: This study compared healthy late-preterm (34-36 week) and healthy full-term (37-41 week) singleton infants on a range of cognitive, motor, and behavioral outcomes at 2 and 4 years. Eighteen developmental outcomes were analyzed using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Birth Cohort, a nationally representative panel study. Ordinary Least Squares and logistic regressions were performed to estimate unadjusted and adjusted differences in developmental outcomes between late-preterm and full-term children. In unadjusted models, late-preterm children scored more poorly than full-term children on most assessments of cognitive ability at 2 and 4 years. After adjusting for demographic, economic, and obstetrical factors, late-preterm children continued to score lower than full-term children on language use at 2 years and on literacy, language, and math at 4 years, but scored at least one standard deviation below the mean on only one of the eighteen outcomes. Late-preterm birth is associated with subtle deficits in cognitive functioning as early as age 2 years. Although the effects may be too small to have clinical relevance, they suggest a trend toward poorer outcomes that have been documented at older ages and suggest that early testing and intervention may enhance the cognitive development of late-preterm children.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 536 George St., New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA. lennan@ssw.rutgers.edu
authors.forename: Lenna
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nepomnyaschy
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hegyi
authors.forename: Barbara M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Ostfeld
authors.forename: Nancy E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Reichman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007360:Intelligence; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D047929:Term Birth; D055815:Young Adult