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Longitudinal study of neuropsychological outcome in blind extremely‐low‐birthweight children
Author(s) -
Gosch Angela,
Brambring Michael,
Gennat Heike,
Rohlmann Annette
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
developmental medicine and child neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.658
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1469-8749
pISSN - 0012-1622
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8749.1997.tb07435.x
Subject(s) - pediatrics , gestational age , retinopathy of prematurity , medicine , gross motor skill , birth weight , neuropsychology , low birth weight , head circumference , child development , full term , motor skill , cognition , pregnancy , psychiatry , biology , genetics
This study evaluated neurological and psychological development in 10 blind children over a 4‐year period. Five of the children were born preterm with an extremely low birthweight (ELBW) and a diagnosis of retinopathy, whereas the other five were term. All children received their first neurological examination at a mean age of 10 months and then annual follow ups. In addition, the Bielefeld Developmental Test for Blind Infants and Preschoolers (BDTB) was administered every 6 months (from the ages of 18 to 48 months) to assess developmental outcome in different domains (e.g. cognition, language, gross motor abilities). Results showed a higher number of peri‐ and neonatal complications in blind ELBW children as well as a significantly higher number of neurological symptoms over the 4‐year period. At the mean age of 4 years 10 months, blind ELBW children had a significantly lower body weight, body height, head circumference, and body‐mass index compared with the term children. Findings on psychological development revealed that blind ELBW children also had significantly lower scores on all domains covered by the BDTB. Finally, the overall score on the BDTB correlated significantly with gestational age, birthweight, duration of mechanical respiration, and days spent in hospital after delivery.