Cognitive development among low birthweight (LBW) children at 4-year-old in relation to socio-demographic variables and chronic morbidities

ABSTRACT

Low birthweight children are at risk for motor, language and cognitive delay in early childhood. The aim of the present study is the examination of cognitive skill development among 4-year-old preterm and low birthweight children in relation to demographical and perinatal variables. We utilized the Wechsler Preschool Primary Scales of Intelligence-IV for measuring IQ. 33.3% of the children performed in the ranges of below average (IQ<90). We found that perinatal and neonatal risk factors for lower cognitive functioning are birthweight (especially less than 1000 grams), and bronchopulmonary dysplasia, retinopathy of prematurity, or intraventricular haemorrhage after birth. We also identified demographical risk factors, such as lower maternal education, lower socioeconomic status, and Roma ethnicity. In conclusion it is crucial to emphasize, that early intervention programmes for cognitive development should consider implementing the education of the parents to broaden their and their children’s perspectives in life. Another important task is monitoring the development of low birthweight children with neonatal chronic diseases and providing them with the earliest interventions to nurture cognitive skill development which may promote the optimal development of academic skills and prevent delays.

KEYWORDS:

• Low birthweight
• Prematurity
• Wechsler Preschool Primary Scales of Intelligence
• Cognitive skills
• Socioeconomic status

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the children and parents for their participation and interest in the study. We are grateful to our colleagues in the DE KK Pediatric Clinic and the Department of Neonatology for their contribution in data collection and assistance in pre-processing self-report data.

The manuscript has not appeared in other journals and has not been submit elsewhere.

There are no prior publications or submissions with any overlapping information, including studies and patients.

Ethical concerns: Our research was approved by the Hungarian Medical Research Council (33176-2/2017/EKU) following the ethical principles of WMA Declaration of Helsinki. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Authors’ contributions: FK contributed to study design, carried out all assessments and data collection, prepared data for analyses, performed the statistical analyses and drafted the manuscript; BEN participated in the design and coordination of the study and helped interpreting results and drafting the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

The first author (F. Kenyhercz) was supported by the GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00005 project during the writing of the manuscript. This project is co-financed by the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Notes on contributors

Flóra Kenyhercz

Flóra Kenyhercz is a health-psychologist, PhD candidate and assistant lecturer at the Department of Behavioural Sciences, University of Debrecen. Her research focus is on the cognitive, motor and language development of preterm children and later quality of life and mental health of preemies and their parents.

Beáta Erika Nagy

Beáta Erika Nagy is a clinical child psychologist, psychotherapist and professor of child psychology at the Department of Pediatrics, University of Debrecen. Her research focus is on the psychomotor and cognitive development of preterm children and the mental health of children with chronic diseases.