title: Parents tend to underestimate cognitive deficits in 10- to 13-year-olds born with an extremely low birth weight.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study determined the cognitive outcomes of Finnish children born with an extremely low birth weight (ELBW) and assessed the agreement between their neuropsychological assessment and how their parents evaluated their cognitive difficulties.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study focused on 121 children from an ELBW cohort with a mean age of 11.6 years (range 10.3-13.8) and assessed them using a standardised test of intelligence, a neuropsychological test battery and a parental developmental questionnaire. The results were compared with the test norms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ELBW children exhibited global cognitive impairment compared to the test norms, with no differences between children who were small or appropriate for gestational age. Children with average intelligence displayed specific impairment in executive, sensorimotor and visuospatial functions. Corresponding functions in the parental evaluation and neuropsychological assessment were associated, but 16-26% of children scoring under the clinical cut-off value in the neuropsychological test domains were not detected by the parental evaluations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children born with an ELBW faced a high risk of global cognitive impairment at a mean age of 11.6 years, and those with average intelligence were at risk of specific cognitive sequelae. Compared to the neuropsychological tests, up to one-fourth of the parents underestimated their child's cognitive problems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Annika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koivisto
authors.affiliation: Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Liisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Klenberg
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital, Helsinki University Central Hospital, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Viena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tommiska
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital, Helsinki University Central Hospital, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Aulikki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lano
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Matti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laine
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital, Helsinki University Central Hospital, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.|Department of Clinical Sciences, Pediatrics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Vineta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fellman
authors.affiliation: Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Anu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haavisto
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D052577:Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010290:Parents; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Cognitive impairment; Extremely low birth weight; Long-term follow-up; Neuropsychological profile; Parental questionnaire