Neurodevelopmental outcome in one-year-old children born preterm: differences between low birth weight and very low birth weight

Barbara Caravale; Corinna Gasparini; Monica Rea; Maria F Coletti; Arianna Boiani; Rosa Ferri

doi:10.23736/S2724-5276.21.06290-X

Neurodevelopmental outcome in one-year-old children born preterm: differences between low birth weight and very low birth weight

Minerva Pediatr (Torino). 2022 Sep 23. doi: 10.23736/S2724-5276.21.06290-X. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Barbara Caravale¹, Corinna Gasparini², Monica Rea³, Maria F Coletti⁴, Arianna Boiani⁵, Rosa Ferri³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy - barbara.caravale@uniroma1.it.
² Department of Maternal and Child Health, Umberto I Polyclinic Hospital, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
³ Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology and Health Studies, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
⁴ Unit of Clinical Psychology, Department of Neuroscience and Neurorehabilitation, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy.
⁵ Department of Human Neuroscience, Umberto I Polyclinic Hospital, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.

PMID: 36149092
DOI: 10.23736/S2724-5276.21.06290-X

Abstract

Background: In preterm infants, low birth weight represents one of the major risk factors for health and developmental issues. In Italy, most of the studies are focused on extremely preterm or Very and Extremely Low Birth Weight (VLBW, ELBW) children, whereas little data are available on the neurodevelopmental outcome of Low Birth Weight (LBW) children. We aimed to study the developmental profile of a group of preterm children at 12 months of corrected age, comparing cognitive, language and motor performances between LBW and VLBW.

Methods: We assessed 108 children born preterm (53 LBW and 55 VLBW) at 12 months of corrected age (M= 12.9 months; SD = .95) with Bayley-III. We compared the mean scores between and within groups and the rates of mild and severe delay using the Italian norms.

Results: LBW children performed better than VLBW peers, particularly in the cognitive and gross motor areas. No differences between groups were found in relation to language subscales. The rate of mild and severe delay is elevated in both groups, resulting significantly higher in the VLBW group only in the motor area.

Conclusions: These results strongly suggest the need of a multidisciplinary follow-up to monitor the development of premature newborns, including those with birth weights above 1500 g. The early identification of cognitive, language and motor problems is essential to promote children's well-being and intervention prior to school entry.