Maternal signs of chorioamnionitis: Persistent cognitive impairment in low-birthweight children

AIM: To examine whether chorioamnionitis (CA) is associated with long-term cognitive impairment in low-birthweight (LBW) children without major handicaps such as cerebral palsy. METHODS: Population-based long-term follow-up study at 11 y of age of 130 LBW children with birthweight less than 2,000 g, without major handicaps. Thirteen children with maternal signs of clinical CA were compared with the 117 LBW children without. Main outcome measure was psychometric intelligence, assessed using four subscales from the Norwegian version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children -- Revised. RESULTS: Mean performance IQ for the LBW children with maternal signs of CA (89, SD 13) was significantly lower compared to the other LBW children (98, SD 16) at 11 y of age (difference of mean 10, 95% CI of difference 0.4 to 19, p=0.04). CONCLUSION: Maternal chorioamnionitis, known to be associated with an increased frequency of cerebral palsy, may have lasting negative consequences for fetal brain development, resulting in long-term cognitive impairments, even when major handicaps such as cerebral palsy are absent.