Cognitive, Language, and Visuomotor Abilities of Very Low Birthweight Infants at Corrected Age of Two Years

Objective To assess the prevalence and predictors of language and visuomotor delay in very low birthweight (<= 1250 g) children at corrected age (CA) of 2 years. Design Prospective observational. Setting Neonatal follow-up clinic of a level III center. Participants Children with birthweight <= 1250 g and discharged alive (n=164) from April 2012 to April 2013 were followed up till 2 years CA (n=126). Methods Development, neurological status, and language/visuomotor cognitive skills were assessed by Cognitive Adaptive Test/Clinical Linguistic and Auditory Milestone Scale (CAT/CLAMS). Development Quotient (DQ) was calculated. Main Outcome Prevalence and predictors for the language and visuomotor delay. Results At 2 years (n=123 CAT, 126 CLAMS), 30 (24%) children had below average DQ (90) and 93 (74%) average and above average DQ (>= 90) in full scale CAT/CLAMS test. Small for gestation infants (n=86) have higher risk of below average DQ (P=0.036). Gestational age and socioeconomic status have a positive correlation with language development at 9 months and 2 years, respectively. Conclusions In VLBW (birth weight <= 1250 g) infants, the prevalence of language/visuomotor delay is high. Small for gestational age infants are at higher risk for language and visuomotor development delay at 2 years corrected age.