The very question of future development of extremely preterm infants

Non peer reviewe

What Makes Participation Meaningful? Using Photo-Elicitation to Interview Children with Disabilities

Aims: The purpose of this study was to describe meaningful participation in everyday life from the perspectives of children with disabilities. Methods: Nine children (5-10 years, mean age 7.2 years, 5 boys, 4 girls) with disabilities participated in individual photo-elicitation interviews. The interview data was transcribed verbatim and analyzed with inductive content analysis. Results: The children's meaningful participation mainly comprised free leisure activities that fostered enjoyment, capability, autonomy and social involvement with family and friends. The children's emotions and physical sensations, opportunities to influence, knowledge about the activity and the participation context, presumptions and previous experiences of the activity and the environment played a vital role in their decisions to participate. Conclusion: The meaningful participation facilitated enjoyment and self-determination for the children. Identifying personal and environmental factors supporting or restricting participation from the child's perspective emerges as important in order to provide opportunities for the child's meaningful participation in everyday life. The photo-elicitation interviews demonstrated the potential to act as a tool to identify and explore the children's views about participation in a real-life context.Peer reviewe

Predictive value of psychological assessment at five years of age in the long-term follow-up of very preterm children

The aims of this study were to 1) assess the predictive value of psychological assessment at five years of age on the need for educational support in very preterm children, and 2) report the neuropsychological profile of very preterm children at eleven years of age and risk factors for poorer neuropsychological functions. A cohort of 167 very preterm children was included (birth weight???1500?g and/or gestational age <32?weeks). At five years of age, intellectual functioning was assessed with Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised and neuropsychological performance with NEPSY II. At eleven years of age, neuropsychological functions were assessed using NEPSY II and data on educational support services collected using a questionnaire. Lower full-scale intelligence quotient and poorer performance in subtests inhibition, comprehension of instructions, memory for designs, visuomotor precision and design copying at five years of age were associated with a need for educational support. Neuropsychological performance at eleven years of age was overall within the average range but below the mean, with the poorest performance in tasks assessing visual memory and visuospatial functions. The results offer a novel perspective to timing and measures of follow-up of very preterm children, since they show that need for long-term educational support can be identified at five years of age. The findings also highlight the clinical value of psychological assessments including evaluation of both intellectual functioning and neuropsychological performance, covering detailed information about non-verbal functions, in the follow-up of very preterm children up to eleven years of age.Peer reviewe

Early lexical development of Finnish children: A longitudinal study

Peer reviewe

Associations between lexicon and grammar at the end of the second year in Finnish children

Peer reviewe

Umbilical artery pH and base excess at birth are poor predictors of neurodevelopmental morbidity in early childhood

Abstract Aim We sought to evaluate the associations between umbilical artery pH and base excess and neurodevelopmental outcome at four years of age. Methods This study comprised 84,588 singleton children born alive at term in 2005-2011 in the hospital district of Helsinki and Uusimaa in Finland. Data from the maternity hospital information system were linked to the data from the Medical Birth Register and the Hospital Discharge Register. Neurodevelopmental morbidity included cerebral palsy, epilepsy, intellectual or sensorineural impairment. Results After adjustment for maternal and perinatal factors, a combination of pHPeer reviewe

Risk of hospital-treated injury in children with cerebral palsy: a population-based cohort study

Aim To study whether cerebral palsy (CP) increases the risk of hospital-treated injuries in children up to 13 years of age. Methods A Finnish population-based cohort (n=328 903) of children born during 2001 to 2006 was followed up for hospital-treated injuries until the end of 2014 via linkage of nation-wide registers. The rate of first injury was compared in children with and without CP. The effect of CP type, gender, severe comorbidities (intellectual disability, epilepsy, hearing or visual impairment), and the type of injury was evaluated. Results Children with CP had an increased risk of injury compared with children without CP (unadjusted HR: 1.2, 95% CI: 1.0 - 1.4, p=0.40). Girls with CP (n=191) had a higher risk of injury compared with girls without CP (29% vs 22%, HR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1 to 1.8, p = 0.01). Any comorbidity increased the risk of injury (HR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1 to 2.2, p = 0.015) among children with CP. Children with CP had a higher risk of traumatic brain injury (HR: 1.7, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.4, p = 0.002) than children without CP. Conclusion Girls with CP had the highest risk of hospital-treated injury. Children with CP are particularly prone to traumatic brain injuries.Peer reviewe

Endogenous erythropoietin at birth is associated with neurodevelopmental morbidity in early childhood

Background New biomarkers that predict later neurodevelopmental morbidity are needed. This study evaluated the associations between umbilical cord serum erythropoietin (us-EPO) and neurodevelopmental morbidity by the age of 2-6.5 years in a Finnish cohort. Methods This study included 878 non-anomalous children born alive in 2012 to 2016 in Helsinki University Hospitals and whose us-EPO concentration was determined at birth. Data of these children were linked to data from the Finnish Medical Birth Register and the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register. Neurodevelopmental morbidity included cerebral palsy, epilepsy, intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, sensorineural defects, and minor neurodevelopmental disorders. Results In the cohort including both term and preterm children, us-EPO levels correlated with gestational age (r = 0.526) and were lower in premature children. High us-EPO levels (>100 IU/l) were associated with an increased risk of severe neurodevelopmental morbidity (OR: 4.87; 95% CI: 1.05-22.58) when adjusted for the gestational age. The distribution of us-EPO levels did not differ in children with or without the later neurodevelopmental diagnosis. Conclusions Although high us-EPO concentration at birth was associated with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental morbidity in early childhood, the role of us-EPO determination in clinical use appears to be minor. Impact We determined whether endogenous umbilical cord serum erythropoietin would be a new useful biomarker to predict the risk of neurodevelopmental morbidity. This study evaluated the role of endogenous erythropoietin at birth in neurodevelopmental morbidity with a study population of good size and specific diagnoses based on data from high-quality registers. Although high umbilical cord serum erythropoietin concentration at birth was associated with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental morbidity in early childhood, the clinical value of erythropoietin determination appears to be minor.Peer reviewe