Stability of Developmental Problems of Preterm and Full-term Children at School Entry

Abstract Background Moderately-late preterm (MLP) children (gestational age [GA] 32–36 weeks) are followed-up within community services, which often use developmental milestones as indicators of delay. We aimed to examine associations of parental report of smiling-age and walking-age with developmental delay upon school entry for MLP and full-term children. Methods This study regards a community-based cohort study, including 1241 children. Parent-reported smiling-age (n = 514) and walking-age (n = 1210) were recorded in preventive child healthcare. To determine developmental delay at school entry (at age 4) we used the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) total and domain scores. We assessed the association of smiling-age and walking-age with dichotomized ASQ-scores, using logistic regression analyses. Results For MLP children, each week later corrected smiling-age was associated with a relative increased likelihood of delays of 31, 43, 36 and 35% in the personal-social, problem-solving, gross motor and general developmental functioning, respectively. Each month later corrected walking-age was associated with a relative increased likelihood of delays of 10, 15 and 13% in the personal-social, gross motor and general developmental functioning, respectively. All corrected smiling-ages and walking-ages were within normal full-term ranges. For full-term children, we only found that later walking-age was associated with delays in the personal-social and gross motor domains. Conclusions Smiling-age and walking-age are associated with developmental delay in several domains for MLP and full-term children. Professionals could use these milestones to identify children that may benefit from closer monitoring of their development. Trial registration Clinical Trial Registry name and registration number: controlled-trials.com, ISRCTN80622320.

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Differentiating the cognitive development of early-term births in infants and toddlers: a cross-sectional study in China

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025275 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. e025275 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jing Hua ◽

Jie Sun ◽

Zhijuan Cao ◽

Xiaotian Dai ◽

Senran Lin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Development ◽

Cognitive Ability ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Full Term ◽

Close Monitoring ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Early Term ◽

Developmental Problems ◽

Term Births

ObjectivesThis study aimed to explore the cognitive development of low-risk children during early childhood for early-term births at 37 and 38 weeks of gestation compared with full term births at 39–41 weeks of gestation.Setting and participantsWe conducted a cross-sectional study in Shanghai, one of the largest cities in China. A total of 1444 children from singleton pregnancies born at term gestation were included in the study.MeasuresThe cognitive outcomes of the subjects were measured using the cognitive subtest of Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (BSID-III) across three cities in China. We analysed the association between gestational age and cognitive development during infancy and toddler stages using multivariate linear modelling.ResultsThe cognitive development scores for infants born at 37 gestational weeks were significantly lower than those born at 39–41 gestational weeks (β=−2.257, 95% CI −4.280 to −0.235; p<0.05) after adjusting for children’s and maternal characteristics, as well as socio-economic factors. However, there were no significant differences in cognitive ability between infants born at 38 gestational weeks compared with their full-term counterparts (p>0.05). Moreover, these effects were not found in toddlers (between 17 and 48 months of age) after adjusting for the possible confounders (p>0.05).ConclusionsInfants born at 37 weeks of gestation exhibited weaker cognitive ability compared with those born at 39–41 weeks of gestation. Our findings provide evidences for the close monitoring of potential developmental problems in early-term children, especially those born at 37 gestational weeks.

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Gestational age and child development at school entry

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-93701-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Gursimran K. Dhamrait ◽

Hayley Christian ◽

Melissa O’Donnell ◽

Gavin Pereira

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Preterm Birth ◽

Child Development ◽

Gestational Age ◽

Full Term ◽

School Entry ◽

Modifiable Risk Factors ◽

Sociodemographic Characteristics ◽

Extremely Preterm ◽

The Impact

AbstractStudies have reported a dose-dependent relationship between gestational age and poorer school readiness. The study objective was to quantify the risk of developmental vulnerability for children at school entry, associated with gestational age at birth and to understand the impact of sociodemographic and other modifiable risk factors on these relationships. Linkage of population-level birth registration, hospital, and perinatal datasets to the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC), enabled follow-up of a cohort of 64,810 singleton children, from birth to school entry in either 2009, 2012, or 2015. The study outcome was teacher-reported child development on the AEDC with developmental vulnerability defined as domain scores < 10th percentile of the 2009 AEDC cohort. We used modified Poisson Regression to estimate relative risks (RR) and risk differences (RD) of developmental vulnerability between; (i) preterm birth and term-born children, and (ii) across gestational age categories. Compared to term-born children, adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics attenuated RR for all preterm birth categories. Further adjustment for modifiable risk factors such as preschool attendance and reading status at home had some additional impact across all gestational age groups, except for children born extremely preterm. The RR and RD for developmental vulnerability followed a reverse J-shaped relationship with gestational age. The RR of being classified as developmentally vulnerable was highest for children born extremely preterm and lowest for children born late-term. Adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics attenuated RR and RD for all gestational age categories, except for early-term born children. Children born prior to full-term are at a greater risk for developmental vulnerabilities at school entry. Elevated developmental vulnerability was largely explained by sociodemographic disadvantage. Elevated vulnerability in children born post-term is not explained by sociodemographic disadvantage to the same extent as in children born prior to full-term.

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