Comparison of abilities of preterm and maturely born children at 5 years of age

This study investigated whether the development of 5 year old preterm born children was appropriate for age and equivalent to or different from their peers who were full term at birth. At the adjusted age of 5 years, the development of 106 children born 5 or more weeks before term was compared with...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAustralian paediatric journal Vol. 21; no. 1; p. 31
Main Authors Burns, Y R, Bullock, M I
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Australia 01.02.1985
Subjects
Child Behavior
Child Behavior Disorders - epidemiology
Child Development
Child, Preschool
Cognition
Developmental Disabilities - epidemiology
Female
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Premature
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Motor Activity
Motor Skills
Neuropsychological Tests
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Summary:This study investigated whether the development of 5 year old preterm born children was appropriate for age and equivalent to or different from their peers who were full term at birth. At the adjusted age of 5 years, the development of 106 children born 5 or more weeks before term was compared with the development of 103 children who were born at term. This latter group of children were matched to the preterm group in sex, year of birth, birthplace, race and residential location. No cerebral palsy children were included in either subject group. The results indicated a significant difference between the two groups. Factors distinguishing the preterm children from their full term peers included small involuntary hand movements, less competent gross motor ability, poorer verbal performance and more variability in behaviour, postural response and balance. A higher than average incidence of minor motor, speech, behaviour and learning problems in early school years is probable.
ISSN:0004-993X