Abstract
In this study, we analyzed whether 6-month gross and fine motor skills were related to 12-month gross and fine motor skills and cognitive development, controlling for 6-month cognitive skills, and neonatal status (extremely low gestational age ELGA ≤ 28 weeks vs. full-term FT ≥ 37 weeks). We also investigated, at 6 months, predictive indexes for motor and cognitive delay at 12-months. We assessed 40 infants (20 ELGA and 20 FT) at 6 and 12 months (corrected age for the ELGA infants). Six-month gross motor skills were related to 12-month gross motor, fine motor, and cognitive skills and predicted 12-month gross motor delay. Six-month cognitive skills explained an additional amount of variance of 12-month gross motor skills, whereas neonatal status explained an additional amount of variance of 12-month cognitive skills. Considering the intradomain and cross-domain cascading effects of early gross motor skills on later motor and cognitive development, these skills should be repeatedly assessed in ELGA infants in the first year of life for early identification of infants with delayed gross motor skills and implementation of customized interventions.
Highlights
The survival rate of extremely low gestational age (ELGA) infants, that is, with a gestational age ≤ 28 weeks, has considerably improved over the last 20 years (Ruegger et al, 2012; Johnson and Marlow, 2017)
Six-month cognitive skills explained an additional amount of variance of 12-month gross motor skills, whereas neonatal status explained an additional amount of variance of 12-month cognitive skills
Besides early gross motor skills, we have demonstrated that neonatal status explained an additional portion of the variance of cognitive development in the first year of life
Summary
The survival rate of extremely low gestational age (ELGA) infants, that is, with a gestational age ≤ 28 weeks, has considerably improved over the last 20 years (Ruegger et al, 2012; Johnson and Marlow, 2017). These infants have a high risk for developmental delays across multiple domains, even in the absence of major cerebral damage (de Kievet et al, 2009; Mansson and Stjernqvist, 2014; Sansavini et al, 2014; Lefebvre et al, 2016). At 24 months, 16.6% of the extremely preterm children, assessed by the EPIPAGE-2 study through a parental questionnaire, scored below 2 SD with respect to the normative values (Pierrat et al, 2017); at 30 months, 7% of the extremely preterm children, assessed by the EXPRESS study through a standardized instrument, scored 2 SD below the mean of their control group (Mansson and Stjernqvist, 2014)
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