Early Life Neurodevelopment of Infants across a Wide Gestational Age Range

Abstract

Objective

Preterm infants are at an increased risk for developmental challenges, but existing research has primarily focused on extremely preterm infants, leaving the outcomes for moderate to late preterm and early term children less clear due to varied study methods and criteria. This study aimed to examine a wide range of gestational age (GA) and provide a more comprehensive understanding of its effects on various developmental domains.

Method

Four hundred and fifty-four infants who were born at 24–41 weeks of GA were included in this analysis. Cognitive, language, and motor development between 8 and 30 months of age were assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, third edition. Associations between GA and outcomes were analyzed using linear and logistic mixed-effects models.

Results

GA was positively associated with all examined developmental domains with a modestly sized effect (Pearson’s correlation coefficients: 0.08- 0.15; p<0.05). After adjusting for covariates, linear mixed-effect models estimated that each additional week of GA was associated with an increase in Bayley III composite scores: cognitive (0.6 points), language (0.6 points), and motor (0.62 points). Logistic mixed-effect models showed that each additional week of GA reduced the adjusted odds ratio of delay in one of the language subdomains (i.e. receptive communication) by 13%.

Conclusion

We found a modest impact on cognitive, language, and motor development across a wide range of gestational age. Language and its subdomains seem particularly sensitive to the effects of prematurity. Thus, regular monitoring and early intervention, especially in the language domain, are warranted for all infants.

Keywords: Early childhood development, prematurity, preterm, early term, full-term, Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Bayley-III, gestational age, developmental outcome, cognitive, Language, motor