Academic Achievement of Adolescents Born with Extremely Low Birth Weight
Acta Pediatrica, 08/01/2012
Litt HS et al. – Extremely low birth weight (ELBW <1kg) adolescents born in the 1990’s have poorer achievement and higher rates of math LD than NBW peers. The findings suggest a need for more intensive interventions addressing the specific cognitive vulnerabilities in this population.
Methods- Compared 181 ELBW adolescents mean age 14.8 years born 1992-1995 (mean BW 809 g, mean GA 26.4 weeks) and 115 NBW term controls.
- Measures included tests of IQ, reading and math achievement, and executive function. Analyses included ANCOVA and logistic and linear regression. Covariates were sex, race, and socioeconomic status.
- ELBW adolescents had significantly lower scores on tests of IQ (87.1 vs. 96.4), achievement (88.6 vs. 95.5 reading; 81.3 vs. 93.2 math), and executive function than the NBW group (all p-values <0.001).
- ELBW also had higher rates of math LD, 51(50%) v. 26 (28%), OR (95% CI) = 3.10 (1.65, 5.84), p<0.001, and need for special education, 88 (49%) vs. 11(10%), OR (95%CI) = 11.78 (5.67, 24.47), p<0.001.
- Measures of executive function were related to math independent of IQ.
