Effects of Severity and Chronicity of Respiratory Illness on the Cognitive Development of Preterm Infants

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Abstract
Postnatal risk factors that could potentially affect the cognitive development of 62 preterm infants were investigated in the first phase of a longitudinal study. Risk status was stratified by the extent of the infants postnatal respiratory illness (i.e., chronicity), and by their length of hospitalization (i.e., severity). Three risk groups that differed significantly by birth weight, gestational age, and other neonatal characteristics were established by use of these combined criteria. The cognitive development of these infants was evaluated in their second year of life (12 or 18 months time posthospital discharge). Analysis of data from the Bayley, Uzgiris Hunt, and REEL scales indicated that the criteria of chronicity and severity of postnatal respiratory illness are effective predictors of cognitive and psychomotor risk of preterm infants. Regression analyses demonstrated that the variance accounted for by risk group on these outcomes was enhanced by two neonatal variables: birth asphyxia and sex of child. The study demonstrated that postnatal illness characteristics are highly associated with the cognitive development of preterm infants in the second year.

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