School outcomes of late preterm infants: special needs and challenges for infants born at 32 to 36 weeks gestation.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
Because limited long-term outcome data exist for infants born at 32 to 36 weeks gestation, we compared school outcomes between 32- to 33-week moderate preterm (MP), 34-36 week late preterm (LP) and full-term (FT) infants.

STUDY DESIGN:
A total of 970 preterm infants and 13 671 FT control subjects were identified from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort. Test scores, teacher evaluations, and special education enrollment from kindergarten (K) to grade 5 were compared.

RESULTS:
LP infants had lower reading scores than FT infants in K to first grade (P < .05). Adjusted risk for poor reading and math scores remained elevated in first grade (P < .05). Teacher evaluations of math skills from K to first grade and reading skills from K to fifth grade were worse for LP infants (P < .05). Adjusted odds for below average skills remained higher for math in K and for reading at all grades (P < .05). Special education participation was higher for LP infants at early grades (odds ratio, 1.4-2.1). MP infants had lower test and teacher evaluation scores than FT infants and twice the risk for special education at all grade levels.

CONCLUSIONS:
Persistent teacher concerns through grade 5 and greater special education needs among MP and LP infants suggest a need to start follow-up, anticipatory guidance, and interventions for infants born at 32 to 36 weeks gestation.

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Author information

Author/s: Chyi, Lisa J (LJ); Lee, Henry C (HC); Hintz, Susan R (SR); Gould, Jeffrey B (JB); Sutcliffe, Trenna L (TL);

Affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA. lisachyi(-atsign-)stanford.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: The Journal of pediatrics (J Pediatr), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Jul; vol 153 (issue 1) : pp 25-31

Dates: Created 2008/06/23; Completed 2008/07/23;

PMID: 18571530, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

Comments and Corrections

CommentIn: J Pediatr. 2008 Jul;153(1):5-6. (PMID: 18571523)

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