title: Executive function in adolescents born <1000 g or <28 weeks: a prospective cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Extremely preterm (EP; <28 weeks) birth and extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1000 g) are risk factors for poor cognitive outcomes, including in executive function (EF; higher-order cognitive skills necessary for goal-directed, adaptive functioning and important for academic and behavioral-emotional outcomes). We aimed to (1) extend the limited data on EF in EP/ELBW survivors in adolescence compared with normal birth weight controls, and (2) determine changes in EF between ages 8 and 17 years in both groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred twenty-eight EP/ELBW and 166 control adolescents (mean age, 17 years) from a prospective geographical cohort were assessed with multiple EF tasks, and parent- and self-ratings of behavioral EF. The Rey Complex Figure and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function parent report were also administered at age 8 years, enabling examination of change in scores between childhood and adolescence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  EP/ELBW adolescents performed more poorly than controls in verbal processing speed, attentional control, cognitive flexibility, and goal-setting (effect sizes, -0.7 to -0.2 SD), but not psychomotor reaction time. Group differences were of similar magnitude across tasks. From childhood to late adolescence, EP/ELBW children improved their accuracy of the Rey Complex Figure copy more than controls. According to parents, executive behaviors were largely stable over time in both groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adolescents born EP/ELBW have poorer EF skills across multiple domains than controls. From childhood to late adolescence, different aspects of EF improved, but others did not, underscoring the need for multidomain, longitudinal assessments in this high-risk population.
authors: Premature Infant Follow-Up Programme and Victorian Infant Brain Studies and alice.burnett@mcri.edu.au.
authors: Alice C
authors: AC
authors: Burnett
authors: Victorian Infant Brain Studies and.
authors: Shannon E
authors: SE
authors: Scratch
authors: Victorian Infant Brain Studies and Departments of Paediatrics.
authors: Katherine J
authors: KJ
authors: Lee
authors: Victorian Infant Brain Studies and Neonatal Services, Royal Women's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and.
authors: Jeanie
authors: J
authors: Cheong
authors: Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia;
authors: Karissa
authors: K
authors: Searle
authors: Premature Infant Follow-Up Programme and Neonatal Medicine and.
authors: Esther
authors: E
authors: Hutchinson
authors: Premature Infant Follow-Up Programme and.
authors: Cinzia
authors: C
authors: De Luca
authors: Judith Lumley Centre, LaTrobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors: Mary-Ann
authors: MA
authors: Davey
authors: Departments of Paediatrics, Centre for Community Child Health, Royal Children's Hospital, Victoria, Australia; and Population Health, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia;
authors: Gehan
authors: G
authors: Roberts
authors: Premature Infant Follow-Up Programme and Victorian Infant Brain Studies and Departments of Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and.
authors: Lex W
authors: LW
authors: Doyle
authors: Victorian Infant Brain Studies and Departments of Paediatrics.
authors: Peter J
authors: PJ
authors: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D001724:Birth Weight; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D052577:Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012016:Reference Values; D012307:Risk Factors; D014739:Victoria
keywords: adolescence; executive function; extremely preterm