Neurodevelopmental outcome of Italian preterm children at 1 year of corrected age by Bayley-III scales: An assessment using local norms. (October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gasparini, Corinna; Caravale, Barbara; Rea, Monica; Coletti, Maria Franca; Tonchei, Valentina; Bucci, Silvia; Dotta, Andrea; De Curtis, Mario; Gentile, Simonetta; Ferri, Rosa
• Is Part Of: Early human development. Volume 113(2017)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 6
• Publication Date: 2017-10
• Subjects: Bayley-III Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-Third Edition -- US United States -- IT Italian -- NICU Neonatal Intensive Care Unit -- BW birth weight -- GA gestational age at birth -- RDS respiratory distress syndrome -- IVH intra-ventricular hemorrhage -- PVL peri-ventricular leukomalacia -- RL Receptive Language -- EL Expressive Language -- FM Fine Motor -- GM Gross Motor; Preterm infants -- Bayley III -- Developmental assessment -- Local norms; Fetus -- Periodicals; Neonatology -- Periodicals; Prenatal influences -- Periodicals; 612.65
• DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2017.06.007
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0378-3782

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Premature birth is often associated with neurodevelopmental difficulties throughout childhood. In the first three years of life, the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-Third Edition (Bayley-III) constitute one of the most used tools for assessing child development. Since Bayley-III original norms are based on United States (US) population, it remains uncertain whether their use in other countries (e.g., European) is appropriate. Aims: This research aimed to examine neurodevelopment of preterm infants and full-term infants, using Bayley-III US norms in comparison to Italian (IT) norms. Patterns of developmental outcomes for both infant groups were also explored. Methods: 104 preterm and 58 full-term infants were included in the study. Bayley-III was used for neurodevelopmental assessment at 1 year of corrected age, considering both IT and US norms for scores computation. Results: Comparing scores obtained with IT vs US norms, differences in means were all significant across five subscales (p < 0.05 at least) for preterm infants, whereas for full-term peers significant differences were found only for Receptive Language and Fine Motor subscales (p < 0.001). Effect size (η 2 ) ranged from 0.22 to 0.94. Within each group, significant discrepancies across subscales were found. Moreover, Italian preterm infants had significantly lower performances than full-term peers, excepting for Expressive Language and Gross Motor subscales. Conclusions: As regards to Italian 1-year children, our study seems to provide evidence for the tendency of Bayley-III US norms to overestimate development compared to IT norms. These findings emphasize the need to early detect children at risk for developmental delay and to plan early intervention. Highlights: Significant differences between US and IT norms-based scores of Bayley-III were found in both preterm and full-term infants. Overall preterm infants showed lower developmental abilities compared to full-term at 1 year of corrected age. Our data have important implications for clinical follow-up programs and early intervention of preterm population.