Preterm Babies Risk Behavior Problems
August 9, 2000 - 0:0
WASHINGTON Preterm babies may be more likely to survive and grow into healthy children than ever before, but they risk subtle behavioral and learning problems later in life, researchers said on Monday.
They found that children who had been preterm babies were almost three times as likely to be low achievers or to have other special needs in school.
As a group, they also score lower on intelligence and achievement tests than full-term children, psychologists Jeremie Barlow and Lawrence Lewandowski of Syracuse University in New York found.
"The prevalence of school problems with preterm children is staggering and warrants greater attention from school professionals," the researchers said in a statement ahead of presenting their research to a meeting of the American Psychological Association in Washington.
Barlow and Lewandowski ran a 10-year study of 118 infants born early at 24 to 31 weeks, and compared them with 119 babies born at full-term 38 to 42 weeks.
They compared their scores on cognitive functioning, classification of learning disabilities, academic achievement, placement and grade retention.
They also compared the children on several social, behavioral and clinical measures made by parents, teachers and psychologists at birth and then at the ages of 15 months, 2 years, 4 years, 7 years and 10 years.
They found that 61 percent of preterm children had either low achievement or special needs in school compared with 23 percent of full-term children.
Preterm children got lower ratings on social and behavioral functioning from their parents and teachers, required more educational support, were more likely to "flunk" or have to repeat a grade and were more likely to be diagnosed with learning disabilities.
The preterm children were also much more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which experts estimate affects between 3 and 5 percent of the general population.
The researchers said parents and doctors should be aware of this and keep an eye on low-birth-weight or preterm babies.
"Our research also suggests that interventions should be implemented for all preterms as early as possible to halt or prevent future problems and closely monitor their social, behavioral and academic progress," they said.
(Reuter)
They found that children who had been preterm babies were almost three times as likely to be low achievers or to have other special needs in school.
As a group, they also score lower on intelligence and achievement tests than full-term children, psychologists Jeremie Barlow and Lawrence Lewandowski of Syracuse University in New York found.
"The prevalence of school problems with preterm children is staggering and warrants greater attention from school professionals," the researchers said in a statement ahead of presenting their research to a meeting of the American Psychological Association in Washington.
Barlow and Lewandowski ran a 10-year study of 118 infants born early at 24 to 31 weeks, and compared them with 119 babies born at full-term 38 to 42 weeks.
They compared their scores on cognitive functioning, classification of learning disabilities, academic achievement, placement and grade retention.
They also compared the children on several social, behavioral and clinical measures made by parents, teachers and psychologists at birth and then at the ages of 15 months, 2 years, 4 years, 7 years and 10 years.
They found that 61 percent of preterm children had either low achievement or special needs in school compared with 23 percent of full-term children.
Preterm children got lower ratings on social and behavioral functioning from their parents and teachers, required more educational support, were more likely to "flunk" or have to repeat a grade and were more likely to be diagnosed with learning disabilities.
The preterm children were also much more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which experts estimate affects between 3 and 5 percent of the general population.
The researchers said parents and doctors should be aware of this and keep an eye on low-birth-weight or preterm babies.
"Our research also suggests that interventions should be implemented for all preterms as early as possible to halt or prevent future problems and closely monitor their social, behavioral and academic progress," they said.
(Reuter)