title: Mathematics difficulties in extremely preterm children: evidence of a specific deficit in basic mathematics processing.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Extremely preterm (EP, <26 wk gestation) children have been observed to have poor academic achievement in comparison to their term-born peers, especially in mathematics. This study investigated potential underlying causes of this difficulty.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 219 EP participants were compared with 153 term-born control children at 11 y of age. All children were assessed by a psychologist on a battery of standardized cognitive tests and a number estimation test assessing children's numerical representations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  EP children underperformed in all tests in comparison with the term controls (the majority of Ps < 0.001). Different underlying relationships between performance on the number estimation test and mathematical achievement were found in EP as compared with control children. That is, even after controlling for cognitive ability, a relationship between number representations and mathematical performance persisted for EP children only (EP: r = 0.346, n = 186, P < 0.001; control: r = 0.095, n = 146, P = 0.256).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Interventions for EP children may target improving children's numerical representations in order to subsequently remediate their mathematical skills.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Simms
authors.forename: Camilla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gilmore
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cragg
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Marlow
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wolke
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000367:Age Factors; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D003071:Cognition; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007360:Intelligence; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D055641:Mathematical Concepts; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests