Bolk J, et al. - Researchers assessed the prevalence of developmental coordination disorder and related comorbidities in a national cohort of apparently healthy children born at 22 to 26 gestational weeks vs alongside term-born peers. A high risk for developmental coordination disorder with associated comorbidities was noted in the children who were born extremely preterm. The importance of a structured follow-up of motor function, behavior, and cognition was supported in the findings.

Methods

• Authors, in this prospective, population-based cohort study included all children who were consecutively born at 22 to 26 gestational weeks in Sweden from April 1, 2004, through March 31, 2007.
• A total of 441 preterm children were evaluated alongside 371 controls, at 6.5 years.
• Neurodevelopmental disabilities were not seen in a total of 275 preterm children (62.4%) and 359 term-born children (96.8%).
• For 229 of 275 preterm children (83.3%) and 344 of 359 (95.8%) term-born children, who composed the final study sample motor assessments were completed.
• Using control group scores, they defined the developmental coordination disorder as a score of the fifth percentile or lower on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children–Second Edition scale,.
• The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition, the Brown Attention-Deficit Disorder Scales, the Five to Fifteen questionnaire, and the Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire were included in the assessment tools.

Results

• Findings suggested that out of the 229 extremely preterm children and 344 term-born controls who underwent motor assessments, 115 (50.2%) and 194 (56.4%) were boys, respectively.
• In 85 of 229 (37.1%) preterm children and in 19 of 344 controls (5.5%) developmental coordination disorder was present (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 7.92; 99% CI, 3.69-17.20).
• As per data, while comparing the preterm children with developmental coordination disorder with term-born peers, the risk was increased for total behavioral problems, internalizing, externalizing, attentional problems, hyperactivity, perceptual problems, executive dysfunction, and poor social skills, with adjusted ORs varying from 2.66 (99% CI, 1.09-6.48) for time concepts to 9.06 (99% CI, 3.60-22.8) for attentional problems (all P < .01).
• Results demonstrated that, preterm children with developmental coordination disorder had more behavioral problems, when preterm children with and without developmental coordination disorder were compared; the adjusted OR for total behavioral problems was 2.71 (99% CI, 1.15-6.37); for externalizing problems, 2.80 (99% CI, 1.10-7.12); for inattention, 3.38 (99% CI, 1.39-8.18); and for combined attention/hyperactivity problems, 3.68 (99% CI, 1.47-9.16) (allP < .01).
• Parents underestimated the children’s motor problems and only a few of the children had received psychological care or physiotherapy.