Cognitive Development at Age 8 Years in Very Low Birth Weight Children in Taiwan

Background/Purpose: All children should have some developmental screening periodically throughout childhood, especially those who were born prematurely. There is limited information about the development of children with very low birth weight (VLBW, birth weight < 1500 g) beyond the preschool age in Taiwan. We evaluated intelligence quotient (IQ) and cognitive ability of prematurely born school-aged children in Taiwan. Methods: This was a multicenter study of VLBW and full-term children born between 1995 and 1997 at four hospitals in northernTaiwan. We used die Wechsler intelligence Scale for Children, 3(rd) Edition (WISC-III), to assess these children. Demographic data were recorded including maternal and paternal age, education, birth weight, gestational age, and gender. Results: A total of 189 children (130 with VLBW born prematurely and 59 born at full term) were recruited. There were significant differences in performance IQ (PIQ; 90.16 +/- 17.05 vs. 108.51 +/- 15.65, p < 0.001), verbal IQ (VIQ; 97.43 +/- 15.62 vs. 111.78 +/- 13.65, p < 0.001), full-scale IQ (FSIQ; 93.14 +/- 16.33 vs. 111.05 +/- 14.81, P < 0.001), verbal comprehension index score (VCIS; 98.06 +/- 15.53 vs. 112.47 +/- 13.74, p < 0.001), perceptional organization index score (POIS; 92.39 +/- 17.13 vs. 109.42 +/- 14.87, p < 0.001) and freedom from distractibility index score (FDIS; 98.34 +/- 17.71 vs. 110.53 +/- 10.94, p= 0.008). There was no correlation between perinatal Outcomes and FSIQ. Conclusion: Our results Suggest that VLBW children have significantly lower PIQ, VIQ, FSIQ, VCIS, POIS and FDIS at primary school compared with full-term children. [J Formos Med Assoc 2008; 107(12):915-920]