Article

AIM: To examine executive functioning in very preterm (gestational age </=30 wks)
children at 4 to 12 years of age. METHOD: Two-hundred very preterm (106 males, 94
females; mean gestational age 28.1wks, SD 1.4; mean age 8y 2mo, SD 2y 6mo) and
230 term children (106 males, 124 females; mean gestational age 39.9wks, SD 1.2;
mean age 8y 4mo, SD 2y 3mo) without severe disabilities, born between 1996 and
2004, were assessed on an executive function battery comprising response
inhibition, interference control, switching, verbal fluency, verbal and spatial
working memory, and planning. Multiple regression analyses examined group
differences while adjusting for effects of parental education, age, sex, and speed indices. RESULTS: Relative to children born at term, very preterm children
had significant (p(s) <0.02; where p(s) represents p-values) deficits in verbal
fluency (0.5 standardized mean differences [SMD]), response inhibition (0.4 SMD),
planning (0.4 SMD), and verbal and spatial working memory (0.3 SMD), independent
of slow and highly fluctuating processing speed. A significant group by age
interaction indicated that group differences for response inhibition decreased
between 4 and 12 years. INTERPRETATION: Very preterm birth is associated with a
profile of affected and non-affected executive functions independent of impaired
speed. Deficits are of small to moderate magnitude and persist over time, except
for response inhibition for which very preterm children catch up with peers.
CI - (c) The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology (c) 2011 Mac Keith
Press.

Langue : ANGLAIS