INTELLECTUAL AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS OF PREMATURELY BORN CHILDREN AT TEN YEARS OF AGE

Background. The purpose of our research was to investigate the intellectual and cognitive functions of premature babies at ten years of age. Material and methods. 35 children (15 preterm and 20 born at term) and their parents participated in the study. We used the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and a questionnaire containing demographic data and medical parameters. Results. The premature children we studied did not differ significantly from the children born at term in terms of overall intelligence, and even showed a tendency to higher scores in the Information sub-scale, but their results were significantly lower in the Vocabulary and Block Design sub-scales. Premature children born to large families, with older parents, and weighing more at birth present a significantly lower level of visuo-motor intelligence in terms of visual analysis and synthesis, as measured by the Picture Completion sub-scale. Premature children with older fathers, born after a longer pregnancy, with a higher birth weight and a higher Apgar score showed a significantly higher level of motor intelligence in such skills as anticipating events, as measured by the Picture Arrangement sub-scale. Conclusions. Our preterm children did not differ from children born at term in respect to general intelligence level, but they presented a significantly lower level of non-verbal intelligence in some domains than children born at term.