Premium
Neonatal brainstem auditory function associates with early receptive language development in preterm children
Author(s) -
Antinmaa Jaana,
Lapinleimu Helena,
Salonen Jaakko,
Stolt Suvi,
Kaljonen Anne,
Jääskeläinen Satu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.15136
Subject(s) - brainstem , medicine , audiology , auditory brainstem response , language development , lexicon , gestational age , language delay , auditory pathways , hearing loss , developmental psychology , psychology , pregnancy , linguistics , philosophy , biology , genetics
Aim To study whether auditory function measured with brainstem auditory evoked potential and brainstem audiometry recordings in the neonatal period associates with language development 1 year later in preterm infants. Methods This retrospective study included 155 preterm infants (birthweight ≤1500 g and/or birth ≤32 gestational weeks) born between 2007 and 2012 at the Turku University Hospital. Auditory function was recorded in neonatal period. Information of language development was gathered at the mean corrected age of 1 year by using the Finnish version of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory. Results Slower auditory processing (longer interpeak interval, IPI I‐V) in the right ear in the neonatal brainstem auditory evoked potential recording associated with smaller receptive lexicon size at 1 year ( P = .043). Infants with longer IPI I‐V were more likely to have a deviant (≤17 words) receptive lexicon size ( P = .033). The absence of a contralateral response with right ear stimulation increased the risk for deviant lexicon size ( P = .049). Conclusion The results suggest that impaired auditory function in the neonatal period in preterm infants may lead to a poorer receptive language outcome 1 year later. Auditory pathway function assessment provides information for the identification of preterm children at risk for weak language development.