Article

The aim of this study was to identify subgroups of children born moderately
preterm (MPT) and term with distinctive levels and patterns of functioning, and
the perinatal and demographic factors that predict subgroup membership. METHOD: A
total of 378 children aged 7 years, 248 MPT (138 males, 110 females; gestational
age 32-36 wks) and a comparison group of 130 children born at term (58 males, 72
females; gestational age 38-41 wks), were selected from a community-based cohort
study. Latent class analyses were performed on measures of intelligence, verbal
memory, attention, executive functioning, and visuomotor and motor skills. chi(2)
automatic interaction detection analyses were performed to detect associations
between the subgroups and predictors. RESULTS: Four subgroups differing in levels
of performance were identified, with parental education being the only
statistically significant determinant of subgroup assignment (p < 0.01). The
subgroup that performed the most poorly showed an irregular pattern of
performance, with specific weakness in attentional skill and relative strength in
intelligence and verbal memory. Parental education predicted classification
probability in the preterm group (p = 0.04) but not in the term group (p = 0.15).
INTERPRETATION: Our results show that the poorer performance of children born MPT
reflects a higher proportion of children with below average performance rather
than a subgroup with extremely poor performance. They indicate that MPT birth
affects neurodevelopmental functioning at early school age only slightly, with
effects being largest in such children with low parental education.
CI - (c) The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology (c) 2012 Mac Keith
Press.

Langue : ANGLAIS