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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by jay on August 15, 2002, at 1:43:22
from:
http://www.healthscout.com/printerFriendly.asp?ap=419&id=508541Preemie Perils
Premature infants face host of learning, behavioral problems, study finds
By Adam Marcus
HealthScoutNews ReporterTUESDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthScoutNews) -- Premature babies face nearly an 11-point gap on tests of cognitive ability as they grow up, compared with their crib mates who are born on schedule.
To make matters worse, preemies are also more likely to develop attention deficits, hyperactivity and other emotional and behavioral problems, a new study has found.
Such a difference on a cognitive test may be trivial between two individuals in the normal range of intelligence. However, for preemies as a whole -- and especially extremely immature infants -- experts say the gulf is alarming, since their average scores are lower than full-term babies.
"There is a huge educational handicap for children born premature," says study co-author Dr. K. J. S. Anand, a pediatrician at the University of Arkansas. "Gradually, these children are making up a greater and greater proportion of the children that are going through school, which is very concerning. I really think our educational system is in for a shock because of these figures."
One study the researchers reviewed found that preemies or low-birth weight infants were 50 percent more likely than full-term babies to wind up in special education -- with the extra cost of teaching them estimated at $370 million in 1988 alone.
A report on the study appears in tomorrow's Journal of the American Medical Association.
Preemie deliveries -- defined as being less than 37 weeks' gestation -- are still relatively rare, making up about 11 percent or so of births in this country. However, the rate has been rising over the past two decades, thanks in part to the growing use of fertility drugs that promote multiple pregnancies and improvements in neonatal care that keep even the lightest, least mature babies alive.
Researchers have performed hundreds of studies looking for evidence of developmental difficulties among preemies, and especially those born extremely early and underweight.
From poorer academic performance to brain anomalies caught on imaging tests, the evidence exists.
However, many of these reports have been rife with methodological flaws, souring their results and weakening their conclusions, Anand says. Some, for example, used different cognitive tests for preemies and on-time babies. Others included children with brain bleeding that may accompany birth troubles related to prematurity. Others have had a hard time accounting for the effects of cerebral palsy, which disproportionately afflicts preemies.
In the latest work, Anand, who is also chief of critical care medicine at Arkansas Children's Hospital, and his colleagues tried to iron out these wrinkles to draw a smoother picture of the long-term effects of prematurity.
The researchers analyzed 31 of 227 previous studies of preemies that included evidence of both behavioral and mental outcomes. In all, the studies covered 1,556 preemies and 1,720 on-time babies.
The average score on cognitive tests -- an early measure of IQ -- was 10.9 points higher for the children born on time than for those born early, Anand's group found. The deficit was even greater for the more premature and the more underweight.
Premature infants were also about 2.6 times more likely than the other babies to develop attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by the time they entered school. They also had a greater risk of other behavioral troubles such as profound shyness, frustration and stranger anxiety, as well as problems with aggression, delinquency and destructiveness.
Dr. Maureen Hack is a noted expert in the long-term outcomes of preemies at Cleveland's Rainbow Baby's and Children's Hospital. Hack says the latest study helps cement the evidence that these infants truly face disadvantages later in life.
"We know they have problems at school age, they do persist into adolescence, and they do have implications for adulthood," she says. Even accounting for lower scores on cognitive tests, preemies suffer developmental trouble.
"Fewer of them finish high school, especially the men, and fewer of them go to college" compared with children who were born full-term, she says.
Posted by .tabitha. on August 15, 2002, at 2:01:21
In reply to Premature born: this is WHY I am f*ked up!, posted by jay on August 15, 2002, at 1:43:22
Posted by Cam W. on August 15, 2002, at 9:38:52
In reply to Premature born: this is WHY I am f*ked up!, posted by jay on August 15, 2002, at 1:43:22
Most likely premature birth didn't cause your mental problems. I mean, I was born prematurely and ..... oh .... wait a minute ....never mind.
;^)
- Cam (Still, I think that the link between behavioral disorders and premature birth is a bit tenuous. Besides, how much before 37 weeks are we talking, and does being born more prematurely increase the risk).
Posted by awake at last on August 16, 2002, at 8:25:40
In reply to Premature born: this is WHY I am f*ked up!, posted by jay on August 15, 2002, at 1:43:22
I think a lot of this has to do with WHY a baby was born prematurely and the care they were given immediately after birth, not just that they were premature. A lot of premature babies are born from a mother who was taking drugs (legal or illegal) or a mother that did not properly take care of herself during her pregnancy. Obviously if this is the case, then the baby is definitley not given the opportunity to develop correctly and I would not be surprised if this did cause a mental or physical deficiency. (The majority of premature babies are still delivered to mothers in a lower-income classification - who may not know how or have the ability to care for themselves and child as they should).
However, as a mother of a child born prematurely at week 32 weighing 3.12 lbs (due to a severe case of pre-eclampsia), I know that my son shows no sign of any problems. He is 7 yrs. old now, and shows no sign of hyperactivity, no depression, and is well ahead of the majority of the kids in his class both from an educational and athletic standpoint.
I'd like to see them break that study further down into categories explaining why these pregnancies delivered prematurely - and if the ones that are having trouble now - were they born from mothers that did or did not take proper care of themselves during their pregnancies, and proper care for the preemies after they were born.....
(P.S. I'm not making any implication about your mother - she may have done everything perfectly :)
**************************************************>
> from:
> http://www.healthscout.com/printerFriendly.asp?ap=419&id=508541
>
> Preemie Perils
>
> Premature infants face host of learning, behavioral problems, study finds
>
> By Adam Marcus
> HealthScoutNews Reporter
>
> TUESDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthScoutNews) -- Premature babies face nearly an 11-point gap on tests of cognitive ability as they grow up, compared with their crib mates who are born on schedule.
>
> To make matters worse, preemies are also more likely to develop attention deficits, hyperactivity and other emotional and behavioral problems, a new study has found.
>
> Such a difference on a cognitive test may be trivial between two individuals in the normal range of intelligence. However, for preemies as a whole -- and especially extremely immature infants -- experts say the gulf is alarming, since their average scores are lower than full-term babies.
>
> "There is a huge educational handicap for children born premature," says study co-author Dr. K. J. S. Anand, a pediatrician at the University of Arkansas. "Gradually, these children are making up a greater and greater proportion of the children that are going through school, which is very concerning. I really think our educational system is in for a shock because of these figures."
>
> One study the researchers reviewed found that preemies or low-birth weight infants were 50 percent more likely than full-term babies to wind up in special education -- with the extra cost of teaching them estimated at $370 million in 1988 alone.
>
> A report on the study appears in tomorrow's Journal of the American Medical Association.
>
> Preemie deliveries -- defined as being less than 37 weeks' gestation -- are still relatively rare, making up about 11 percent or so of births in this country. However, the rate has been rising over the past two decades, thanks in part to the growing use of fertility drugs that promote multiple pregnancies and improvements in neonatal care that keep even the lightest, least mature babies alive.
>
> Researchers have performed hundreds of studies looking for evidence of developmental difficulties among preemies, and especially those born extremely early and underweight.
>
> From poorer academic performance to brain anomalies caught on imaging tests, the evidence exists.
>
> However, many of these reports have been rife with methodological flaws, souring their results and weakening their conclusions, Anand says. Some, for example, used different cognitive tests for preemies and on-time babies. Others included children with brain bleeding that may accompany birth troubles related to prematurity. Others have had a hard time accounting for the effects of cerebral palsy, which disproportionately afflicts preemies.
>
> In the latest work, Anand, who is also chief of critical care medicine at Arkansas Children's Hospital, and his colleagues tried to iron out these wrinkles to draw a smoother picture of the long-term effects of prematurity.
>
> The researchers analyzed 31 of 227 previous studies of preemies that included evidence of both behavioral and mental outcomes. In all, the studies covered 1,556 preemies and 1,720 on-time babies.
>
> The average score on cognitive tests -- an early measure of IQ -- was 10.9 points higher for the children born on time than for those born early, Anand's group found. The deficit was even greater for the more premature and the more underweight.
>
> Premature infants were also about 2.6 times more likely than the other babies to develop attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by the time they entered school. They also had a greater risk of other behavioral troubles such as profound shyness, frustration and stranger anxiety, as well as problems with aggression, delinquency and destructiveness.
>
> Dr. Maureen Hack is a noted expert in the long-term outcomes of preemies at Cleveland's Rainbow Baby's and Children's Hospital. Hack says the latest study helps cement the evidence that these infants truly face disadvantages later in life.
>
> "We know they have problems at school age, they do persist into adolescence, and they do have implications for adulthood," she says. Even accounting for lower scores on cognitive tests, preemies suffer developmental trouble.
>
> "Fewer of them finish high school, especially the men, and fewer of them go to college" compared with children who were born full-term, she says.
>
>
Posted by sjb on August 16, 2002, at 12:02:36
In reply to Premature born: this is WHY I am f*ked up!, posted by jay on August 15, 2002, at 1:43:22
I was just under 10lbs (girl) and I'm really screwed up.
Posted by LynnPerley on August 19, 2002, at 21:24:48
In reply to Premature born: this is WHY I am f*ked up!, posted by jay on August 15, 2002, at 1:43:22
Just to add to this totally nonscientific survey -
I was born 40.5 years ago, at least 6 weeks early due to placenta abruptio, weighing a scant 2.9 pounds. I scored in the 99% on my SAT's and finished law school <ducking and running for mentioning my profession>. I've never been diagnosed with ADHD or behavior problems, and skipped the 4th grade (although I don't reccomend that!). I'm suffering from what seems to be a straightforward major depression.
This is the end of the thread.
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