Sensory-motor performance in seven-year-old children born extremely preterm

Background: Children born preterm are prone to motor problems. Research on their motor performance has, however, rarely been integrated with sensory processing. Aim: To examine sensory-motor performance in children born extremely preterm (EPT). Method: In a longitudinal prospective cohort study, 49 EPT (born < 28 gestational weeks; 32 boys and 17 girls) and 33 term-born (16 boys and 17 girls) children were assessed with six individual subtests from the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests at the age of 7.0 to 7.3 years. Results: The rate of test z-scores indicating dysfunction [from - 2 standard deviations (SD) to < -1 SD for mild and < - 2 SD for moderate-to-severe] was significantly higher in EPT children than in term-born children in all the subtests. When comparing mean performance adjusted for gender and mother's education, EPT children performed worse than term-born children in Design Copying (z-score difference - 0.83; 95% confidence interval -1.32 to - 0.34), Motor Accuracy (- 0.82; -1.26 to - 0.38), Postural Praxis (- 0.95; -1.45 to - 0.45), Manual Form Perception (- 0.59; -1.12 to - 0.06), and Finger Identification (- 0.88; -1.45 to - 0.31). Additional adjustment for Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient rendered difference in Manual Form Perception non-significant. Conclusion: Seven-year-old EPT children perform worse than their term-born peers in tests for visual-motor, somatosensory, and motor planning performance.