Three-Year Outcomes for Low Birth Weight Infants: Differential Effects of Early Medical Complications

This study evaluated the effects of several specific medical complications associated with prematurity on the intellectual, communication, and motoric development of low birth weight (LBW) infants. This study extends the findings of a previous report to the 36-month time point and includes a full-term comparison group of comparable socioeconomic status. LBW infants (n = 99) were grouped according to the following complications at birth: (a) in-traventricular hemorrhage (Grades I and II) (IVH group); (b) respiratory distress syndrome (RDS group); (c) bronchopulmonary dysplasia with and without IVH (BPD group); (d) IVH (Grades III and IV) with associated hydrocephalus (IVH-HYD group). The LBW infants and a group of full-term controls (n = 26) were given standardized tests of cognitive and motoric development at 36 months. Results show that by 36 months, BPD and IVH-HYD groups scored significantly below full-term and RDS groups on mental and motor measures. All LBW groups scored significantly below full-terms on perceptual performance and expressive language measures. Additional analysis showed that length of hospitalization enhanced predictions of outcome within the BPD group. This study demonstrates the importance of separately considering IVH-HYD and BPD infants when reporting outcomes and developing interventions.