Long-term outcome of very low-birth-weight infants: Kindergarten and Beyond

This paper is a review article which addresses the global outcome of very low-birth-weight children from preschool years to mid-childhood. Several dimensions of their outcome are reviewed, such as health status, growth, emotional and behavioral status, cognitive abilities, and school achievement. School-aged premature children, as a group, are significantly more compromised in their physical growth than children born at term. In terms of their health status, they have outgrown their earlier preponderance to recurrent illnesses in infancy. In general, premature children have lower mean IQs and a higher than normal prevalence of attentional problems and academic difficulties at school. A significant proportion of premature children require additional educational intervention. Parents and physicians should be aware of these potential long-term problems, so that appropriate anticipatory guidance and remediation can be provided.