Neurosensory Disabilities at School Age in Geographic Cohorts of Extremely Low Birth Weight Children Born Between the 1970s and the 1990s

Roberts, Gehan; Anderson, Peter J.; Doyle, Lex W.; Victorian Infant Collaborative Study Group,

doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2008.12.036

« Previous Next »The Journal of Pediatrics
Volume 154, Issue 6 , Pages 829-834.e1, June 2009

Neurosensory Disabilities at School Age in Geographic Cohorts of Extremely Low Birth Weight Children Born Between the 1970s and the 1990s

Gehan Roberts, MPH, PhD, FRACP
- From the Premature Infant Follow-up Program, The Royal Women's Hospital, Parkville, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Neurosciences Theme, Melbourne, Australia
- Reprint requests: Dr Gehan Roberts, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The Royal Women's Hospital, 20 Flemington Rd, Parkville 3052, Victoria, Australia
Peter J. Anderson, BA, GradDip (AppPsych), PhD
- Department of Psychology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Neurosciences Theme, Melbourne, Australia
Lex W. Doyle, MD, FRACP
- From the Premature Infant Follow-up Program, The Royal Women's Hospital, Parkville, Australia
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Neurosciences Theme, Melbourne, Australia
Victorian Infant Collaborative Study Group
- A complete list of Victorian Infant Collaborative Study Group members is available at www.jpeds.com (Appendix).

Received 26 September 2008; received in revised form 24 November 2008; accepted 19 December 2008. published online 23 February 2009.

Objective

To contrast the rates of neurosensory disabilities at age 8 years in extremely low birth weight (ELBW; birth weight 500 to 999 g) children born in the state of Victoria, Australia in 4 four distinct eras from the late 1970s to the late 1990s.

Study design

Study subjects were assessed at age 8 years. Results were compared among 4 ELBW cohorts (87 of 89 children born in 1979-1980, 206 of 212 born in 1985-1987, 224 of 241 born in 1991-1992, and 160 of 170 born in 1997), and between each of these ELBW cohorts and normal birth weight (NBW; birth weight > 2499 g) controls.

Results

The survival rate for ELBW children rose from 25% for the 1979-1980 cohort to 73% for the 1997 cohort. No statistically significant differences in the disability rates were seen in the 4 eras; however, in the 1997 cohort, disability rates were significantly higher in the ELBW children compared with NBW controls: mild disability, 36.7% vs 9.8%; moderate disability, 10.1% vs 2.3%; and severe disability, 8.2% vs 0.6%.

Conclusions

The survival rate of ELBW children continues to rise over time. Despite this, however, the rates of disability in these vulnerable children at school age have remained stable and high relative to controls.

Abbreviations: CI, Confidence interval, CP, Cerebral palsy, ELBW, Extremely low birth weight, LBW, Low birth weight, NBW, Normal birth weight, RR, Relative risk, SD, Standard deviation, WISC, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children