Neurodevelopmental and psychiatric assessments at corrected age of 1-3 years in very preterm infants

Aim: To assess the neurodevelopmental and psychiatric outcomes of very preterm vs preterm infants at 1-3 years of corrected age. Material and Method: Between years 2005-2008, premature infants followed-up in the NICU designated as Group 1 (<32 wks;n=36) were evaluated in comparison to Group 2 (33-37wks; n=56) with the approval of Ethics Committee (TUTFEK 2008/083) in terms of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric development by using Denver developmental screening test, the brief infant toddler social emotional assessment-childcare provider version. Mothers' psychiatric symptoms were assessed by the brief symptom inventory. Socioeconomic status was determined by using SES scale. t-test or Mann-Whitney U tests, chi-square and Spearman tests were used for statistical analysis. Results: In Group 1, paternal education level and psychodevelopmental score was lower than group 2, abnormal outcome in Denver developmental test was more frequent. Psychiatric problem score was higher in boys, whereas psychodevelopmental score was higher in girls. Psychosocial developmental score was lower in those infants with intraventricular hemorrhage and this score showed positive correlation with Denver developmental test results. There was no difference between the two groups in terms of brief symptom inventory. Conclusions: Although very preterm infants more frequently showed abnormal neuropsychological development, they were not significantly different with regard to psychiatric problems. Girls were more advantegous than boys in terms of psychodevelopment. We conclude that these findings should be validated by larger and further studies. (Turk Arch Ped 2011; 46: 280-5)