Cognitive Development at Age 8 Years in Very Low Birth Weight Children in Taiwan

Mu, Shu-Chi; Tsou, Kuo-Su; Hsu, Chyong-Hsin; Fang, Li-Jung; Jeng, Suh-Fang; Chang, Chia-Han; Tsou, Kuo-Inn

doi:10.1016/S0929-6646(09)60014-0

« Previous Next »Journal of the Formosan Medical Association
Volume 107, Issue 12 , Pages 915-920, December 2008

Cognitive Development at Age 8 Years in Very Low Birth Weight Children in Taiwan

Shu-Chi Mu
- Department of Pediatrics, Shin-Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, and College of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei, Taiwan
Kuo-Su Tsou
- Taipei Child Development Assessment Center, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
Chyong-Hsin Hsu
- Department of Pediatrics, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
Li-Jung Fang
- Department of Neonatology, Branch for Women and Children, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
Suh-Fang Jeng
- School and Graduate Institute of Physical Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, and Department of Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
Chia-Han Chang
- Department of Pediatrics, Shin-Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
Kuo-Inn Tsou
- College of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University and Department of Pediatrics, Catholic Tien Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- Correspondence to: Dr Kuo-Inn Tsou, College of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, 510 Zhongzheng Road, Xinzhuang City, Taipei 242, Taiwan

Received 13 December 2007; received in revised form 16 April 2008; accepted 6 June 2008.

Background/Purpose

All children should have some developmental screening periodically throughout childhood, especially those who were born prematurely. There is limited information about the development of children with very low birth weight (VLBW; birth weight < 1500 g) beyond the preschool age in Taiwan. We evaluated intelligence quotient (IQ) and cognitive ability of prematurely born school-aged children in Taiwan.

Methods

This was a multicenter study of VLBW and full-term children born between 1995 and 1997 at four hospitals in northern Taiwan. We used the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 3^rd Edition (WISC-III), to assess these children. Demographic data were recorded including maternal and paternal age, education, birth weight, gestational age, and gender.

Results

A total of 189 children (130 with VLBW born prematurely and 59 born at full term) were recruited. There were significant differences in performance IQ (PIQ; 90.16 ± 17.05 vs. 108.51 ± 15.65, p < 0.001), verbal IQ (VIQ; 97.43 ± 15.62 vs. 111.78 ± 13.65, p < 0.001), full-scale IQ (FSIQ; 93.14 ± 16.33 vs. 111.05 ± 14.81, p < 0.001), verbal comprehension index score (VCIS; 98.06 ± 15.53 vs. 112.47 ± 13.74, p < 0.001), perceptional organization index score (POIS; 92.39 ± 17.13 vs. 109.42 ± 14.87, p < 0.001) and freedom from distractibility index score (FDIS; 98.34 ± 17.71 vs. 110.53 ± 10.94, p = 0.008). There was no correlation between perinatal outcomes and FSIQ.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that VLBW children have significantly lower PIQ, VIQ, FSIQ, VCIS, POIS and FDIS at primary school compared with full-term children.

Key Words: freedom from distractibility index score , full-scale intelligence quotient , intelligence quotient , perceptional organization index score , performance intelligence quotient , verbal comprehension index score , verbal intelligence quotient , very low birth weight