Intelligence and executive function of school-age preterm children in function of birth weight and perinatal complication

Abstract

Aim

Assessment of intelligence and executive function in 9–10-year-old preterm children as compared to a full-term comparison group and to reveal the background of the individual differences in the outcomes by analyzing the effects of perinatal and social-economic factors.

Method

Seventy-two preterm children (divided into two groups: 32 extremely low birth weight, 40 very low birth weight) and a matched group of 33 healthy full-term children, aged 9–10 years, were tested using the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children (WISC-IV) and digital versions of tasks measuring executive function. As background information perinatal variables and maternal education were entered in the analysis.

Results

In the WISC-IV all three groups performed in the normal range. The preterm children, particularly the ELBW subgroup, scored significantly lower than the full-term comparison group in several outcome measures. Behind the group means there were massive scatters of the individual scores. Lower maternal education, male gender, and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) increased the risk for performance deficits.

Conclusion

Low-to-moderate risk preterm children as groups are disadvantaged in the development of intelligence and executive function as compared to healthy full-term children even until school-age. However, with appropriate protective factors they may have chances to develop comparably with their full-term, non-risk counterparts.

Keywords:

• Executive function
• individual difference
• intelligence
• perinatal complications
• prematurity

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dr. Miklós Győri for making the devices of the digital tests available, for Prof. László Hunyadi for his advice in the statistical analysis, and for Viktória Klein and Nikolett Koller for their help with data input. The cooperation of the children and their parents is deeply appreciated.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).