Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Preschool development of very low birth weight children born 1994–1995

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
European Journal of Pediatrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study reports on the developmental outcome of a sample of pre-term children with a birth weight ≤1500 g born in 1994 and 1995 studied at the age of 5 to 6 years. The sample included 60 out of 81 surviving pre-term children (74.1%) of a German neonatal intensive care unit which was matched to a control group of 60 kindergarten children of the same region. The results show significant differences between term and pre-term children with regard to their intellectual development, language comprehension, attentiveness, and hyperactivity. Moreover, the pre-term children required more early intervention to compensate for developmental problems. The developmental deficits were intensified by the presence of biological risk factors like increasingly low birth weight, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and intraventricular haemorrhage. Conclusion: differences between term and pre-term children still exist, although the early 1990s witnessed fundamental changes in the treatment of pre-term children. The persistence of these differences is explained mainly by the increase in the survival rate of children with high biological risk factors.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1.

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

BPD :

bronchopulmonary dysplasia

CBCL :

child behaviour checklist

HKS :

questionnaire of hyperactivity symptoms

IVH :

intraventricular haemorrhage

K-ABC :

Kaufman assessment battery for children

LOS :

Lincoln-Oseretzky scale

MPC :

mental processing composite

MSVK :

Marburg language comprehension test for children

SED :

sequential informative processing score

SGA :

small for gestational age

SGD :

simultaneous information processing score

VLBW :

very low birth weight

References

  1. Achenbach TM (1991) Manual for the child behavior checklist/4–18 and profile. Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont, Burlington

  2. Breslau N, Chilcoat HD, Johnson EO, Andreski P, Lucia VC (2000) Neurologic soft signs and low birthweight: their association and neuropsychiatric implications. Biol Psychiatry 1: 71–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Dezoete JA, Macarthur BA (2000) Some influences on cognitive development in a group of very low birth weight infants at four years. N Z Med J 9: 207–210

    Google Scholar 

  4. Eggert D (1991) Lincoln-Oseretzky-Skala. Beltz Test GmbH, Weinheim

  5. Elben CE, Lohaus A (2000) Marburger Sprachverständnistest für Kinder (MSVK). Hogrefe, Göttingen

  6. Hack M, Fanaroff A (1999) Outcomes of children of extremely low birth weight and gestational age in the 1990's. Early Hum Dev 53: 193–218

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Kaufman A, Kaufman N (1983) Kaufman assessment battery for children. Circle Pines, Minnesota, USA

  8. Klein L (1993) Diagnostik und Therapie beim hyperkinetischen Syndrom. Beltz Test, Weinheim, Germany

  9. Leonard CH, Piecuch RE (1997) School age outcomes in low birth weight preterm infants. Semin Perinatol 21: 240–253

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Luoma L, Herrgard E, Martikainen A (1998) Neuropsychological analysis of the visuomotor problems in children born preterm ≤32 weeks gestation: a 5-year prospective follow-up. Dev Med Child Neurol 40: 21–30

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Ouden LD, Rijken M, Brand R, Verloove-Vanhorick SP, Ruys JH (1991) Is it correct to correct? Developmental milestones in 555 "normal" preterm infants compared with term infants. J Pediatr 118: 399–404

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Papile L, Burstein J, Burstein R (1978) Incidence and evolution of subependymal and intraventricular hemorrhage: a study of infants with birth weight less than 1500 grams. J Pediatr 92: 529–534

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Salokorpi T, Rautio T, Sajaniemi N, Serenius-Sirve S, Tuomi H, Wendt L (2001) Neurological development up to the age of four years of extremely low birth weight infants born in Southern Finland in 1991–94. Acta Paediatr 90: 218–221

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Singer L, Yamashita T, Lilien L, Collin M, Baley J (1997) A longitudinal study of developmental outcome of infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia and very low birthweight. Pediatrics 100: 987–993

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Vohr B, Coll CG, Flanagan P, Oh W (1992) Effects of intraventricular hemorrhage and socioeconomic status on perceptual, cognitive and neurologic status of low birth weight infants at 5 years of age. J Pediatr 121: 280–285

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Wolke D, Meyer R (1999) Cognitive status, language attainment, and prereading skills of 6-year-old very preterm children and their peers: the Bavarian Longitudinal Study. Dev Med Child Neurol 41: 94–104

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Marburg, Gutenbergstrasse 18, 35032, Marburg, Germany

    Claudia Hanke, Arnold Lohaus & Caterina Gawrilow

  2. Department of Paediatrics, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany

    Ines Hartke, Birgit Köhler & Andreas Leonhardt

Authors
  1. Claudia Hanke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Arnold Lohaus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Caterina Gawrilow
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ines Hartke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Birgit Köhler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Andreas Leonhardt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arnold Lohaus.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hanke, C., Lohaus, A., Gawrilow, C. et al. Preschool development of very low birth weight children born 1994–1995. Eur J Pediatr 162, 159–164 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-002-1127-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-002-1127-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation