Early identification of preterm children at high risk of intellectual disability (IQ <70) or borderline intelligence (IQ 70-84) is critical for early (but different) interventions.
A multicenter study recruited 1,680 preterm infants born at <32 weeks gestation (between 2001 and 2014) who underwent mental assessments (Bayley Scales of Infant Development) at corrected ages 6, 12 and 24 months and IQs at 5.5 years to examine early (6-24 months) mental trajectories and relate them to intellectual disability/borderline intelligence.
In preterm infants 3 mental trajectories are identifiable:
“High stable” (59.7%),
“High declining” (35.3%),
“Low declining” (5.0%),
with borderline intelligence/intellectual disability occurring in 14.1%/1.5%; 36.1%/13.7% and 10.7%/82.1% respectively (a” Low-declining trajectory” predicts a 37.7-fold higher odds of intellectual disability – a” High declining trajectory” has 4.4-fold higher odds for borderline intelligence).
“Early life mental trajectories help identify preterm children at risk for intellectual disability and borderline intelligence respectively at school age for timely intervention”.
