Neuropsychological assessment and perinatal risk: A study amongst very premature born 4- and 5-year old children

Abstract

Background: Prematurity and its consequences are serious problems that can result in numerous neurosensory disabilities and cerebral cognitive dysfunctions. The Perinatal Risk Index (PERI) might provide a predictive measure of these problems. Aim:This study compared the cognitive development of prematurely born children at 4 and 5 years of age with age-matched peers born at term. The secondary objective was to determine whether a correlation exists between perinatal risk and performance on neuropsychological tests among premature children.Methods: A total of 54 children between four and five years of age were evaluated; 27 were born very premature (premature group; PG), and 27 were born at term (term group; TG). Executive function, attention, memory, language, visual perception, and spatial structuring were evaluated. Subtests from the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, the Rey Complex Figure Test, the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Test A, Trails A and B, the spatial structuring questionnaire from the Child Neuropsychological Maturity Questionnaire, and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children were used. A PERI score was also obtained for the PG. Results:The PG showed significantly lower scores than the TG in all the studied cognitive domains. Visualperceptive scores were significantly and negatively correlated with the PERI scores of the PG. Conclusions:The PG showed neurocognitive deficits compared with the TG. The PERI can be used to predict the development of visual-perceptive abilities in children between four and five years of age.

The association between perinatal and neonatal variables and neuropsychological development in very and extremely low-birth-weight preterm children at the beginning of primary school

“…Other studies have focused on the use of indexes or inventories to measure perinatal risk and relate it to subsequent developmental measures. Thus, it appears that at least part of children's cognitive, motor, and adaptive development (Howe, Sheu, Hsu, Wang, & Wang, 2016), as well as deficits in visuoperceptual abilities (Sanchez-Joya et al, 2017), can be explained by medical complications at birth. However, these studies were carried out before the age of five and do not reveal whether this situation continues in their subsequent development.…”

Aplicativos móveis e sua contribuição para pais sobre o desenvolvimento infantil

“…Todavia, ainda são escassos dados referentes a quantidade e as características estruturais de softwares que abordem sobre o desenvolvimento de crianças nos primeiros anos de vida e os determinantes neurobiológicos, sociais e ambientais que podem interferir na trajetória desse desenvolvimento, incluindo habilidades motoras, cognitivas, sociais e comunicativas (Sanchez-Joya et al, 2017). Entre esses determinantes têm-se o nascimento prematuro (Caldas et al, 2018), infecções neonatais por transmissão vertical (Zika Vírus e Sífilis) (Brogueira & Miranda, 2017) e a qualidade da interação mãe-filho (Mesquita et al, 2020).…”

“…A prematuridade é um forte indicador de morbimortalidade neonatal, sendo essa população vulnerável às alterações motoras e cognitivas, incluindo alterações sociocomunicativas, dificuldade de aprendizagem comparado com crianças nascidas a termo (OMS, 2021). Além do mais, um número robusto de pesquisas nacionais e internacionais apontam o efeito da qualidade na prestação de cuidados precoce dos pais na trajetória do desenvolvimento das habilidades motoras e comunicativas desses prematuros e crianças nos primeiros anos de vida (Caldas et al, 2018;Sanchez-Joya et al, 2017;Shah et al, 2013). Dessa forma, o conhecimento adquirido com o uso das ferramentas tecnológicas pode reduzir os impactos negativos do desenvolvimento na vida da criança, além de proporcionar efeito positivo na qualidade de vida de seus pais (Cunha et al, 2021), permitindo o acesso às orientações quanto ao desenvolvimento esperado para os primeiros anos de vida e à compreensão de conceitos e identificação precoce de déficits e/ou atrasos no desenvolvimento da criança.…”

Development of egocentric and allocentric spatial orientation abilities in children born preterm with very low birth weight

“…Children who were born before 37 weeks of gestation, called preterm or premature, show a high risk of suffering developmental alterations derived from prematurity, especially those born with very low birth weight, i.e., under 1,500 grams [1]. Neurodevelopmental disorders are related to behavioral problems and neuropsychological impairment [2,3].…”

“…The presence of some behavioral difficulties, such as internalizing, externalizing, attention, hyperactivity, emotional problems, and social problems [2,3], could potentially affect cognitive performance [3], and some perinatal risks and maternal and newborn conditions can have a later impact on neurodevelopment. Visuoperceptual abilities in premature children may be associated with medical complications at birth [1]. However, this result was obtained using an index that measures perinatal risk and fails to differentiate which of these perinatal and obstetric variables influence later development.…”