Neurobehavioral development of 25 254 children with different gestational ages at birth in three cities of China / 中国当代儿科杂志

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE@#To study the effect of gestational age at birth on the neurobehavioral development of preschool children.@*METHODS@#A total of 25 254 preschool children from Ma'anshan of Anhui Province, Taizhou of Zhejiang Province, and Yangzhou of Jiangsu Province were enrolled. The preschool children were divided into three groups based on their gestational ages at birth preterm group (2 760 cases; 28-36 weeks), early term group (6 005 cases; 37-38 weeks), and full term group (16 489 cases; ≥39 weeks). The Ages and Stages Questionnaires-Third Edition (ASQ-3) was employed to evaluate the children's neurobehavioral development.@*RESULTS@#The preterm group had significantly lower scores of the five domains of ASQ-3, communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving, and personal-social, than the full term group (P0.05). The multiple linear regression analysis indicated a significant positive correlation between gestational age and the five domains of ASQ-3 after adjustment for confounding factors including sex, age, body mass index, and parental education level (P<0.01).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Children born preterm have poorer neurobehavioral development than those born full term and early term, whereas children born full term and early term have similar neurobehavioral development. Gestational age at birth is an independent influencing factor for neurobehavioral development in preschool children.