ArticleBMJ open2019
Impact of gestational age on child intelligence, attention and executive function at age 5: a cohort study.
Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Cognitive and Learning Outcomes in Late Preterm Infants at School Age: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Attentional Deficits Following Preterm Birth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Parental report of language, attention and executive functions at two years: correlational structure of measures and applications to prematurity.Wellcome open research · 2025Article
- Intellectual Development in Mexican Preterm Children at Risk of Perinatal Brain Damage: A Longitudinal Study.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Preterm birth and subsequent intelligence and academic performance in youth: A cohort study.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2024Article
- Challenges in Conducting Clinical Trials for Preeclampsia.Current hypertension reports · 2024Review
- Long-term neurodevelopmental follow-up of children exposed to pravastatin in utero.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2023Article
- Correlation Analysis of Attention and Intelligence of Preterm Infants at Preschool Age: A Premature Cohort Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is not associated with behavior problems in preschool and early school-aged children: A prospective multi-cohort study.Environmental research · 2023Article
- Associations of Pre- and Postnatal Air Pollution Exposures with Child Behavioral Problems and Cognitive Performance: A U.S. Multi-Cohort Study.Environmental health perspectives · 2022Article
- Perinatal, neonatal, developmental and demographic predictors of intelligence at 4 years of age among low birth weight children: a panel study with a 2-year follow-up.BMC pediatrics · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
objectivesPreterm birth can affect cognition, but other factors including parental education and intelligence may also play a role, but few studies have adjusted for these potential confounders. We aimed to assess the impact of gestational age (GA), late preterm birth (34 to <37 weeks GA) and very to moderately preterm birth (<34 weeks GA) on intelligence, attention and executive function in a population of Danish children aged 5 years.
designPopulation-based prospective cohort study.
settingDenmark 2003-2008.
participantsA cohort of 1776 children and their mothers sampled from the Danish National Birth Cohort with information on GA, family and background factors and completed neuropsychological assessment at age 5. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised, Test of Everyday Attention for Children at Five and Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function scores.
resultsFor preterm birth <34 weeks GA (n=8), the mean difference in full-scale intelligence quotient(IQ) was -10.6 points (95% CI -19.4 to -1.8) when compared with the term group ≥37 weeks GA (n=1728), and adjusted for potential confounders. For the teacher-assessed Global Executive Composite, the mean difference was 5.3 points (95% CI 2.4 to 8.3) in the adjusted analysis, indicating more executive function difficulties in the preterm group <34 weeks GA compared with the term group. Maternal intelligence and parental education were weak confounders. No associations between late preterm birth 34 to <37 weeks GA (n=40) and poor cognition were shown.
conclusionsThis study showed substantially lower intelligence and poorer executive function in children born <34 weeks GA compared with children born at term. GA may play an important role in determining cognitive abilities independent of maternal intelligence and parental education. Studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these findings, as the proportion of children born preterm in this study population was small.
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