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“The increased rates of preterm births in Brazil in recent years1 has made it important to predict the outcome of these children, not only due to the increased mortality risk, but also because gestational age and birth weight are important indicators of biological risk for developmental delay.1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 Longitudinal studies have demonstrated that approximately

15% Obeticholic Acid in vitro of preterm infants with very low birth weight are at risk for severe neurodevelopmental dysfunctions5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 and, in the absence of major disorders, 30% to 50% of them have subtle motor, cognitive, and behavioral difficulties,5, 6, 7, 10 and 11 which can be detected in preschoolers.6, 12, 13, 14 and 15 Many of these children attend regular schools, but experience difficulties in learning and performing activities of daily living, and show poor academic performance.3, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 13 Although long‐term developmental http://www.selleckchem.com/products/MS-275.html changes in preterm children are well described in the literature, the emergence of these difficulties at preschool age is less well documented. It is important to investigate the development at preschool age, considering that an assessment focused on motor coordination,

cognitive development, and functional performance at early ages could identify preterm infants at risk for developmental disorders, enabling early intervention and allowing parents to be alerted regarding the potential difficulties their children might experience, prior to the start of elementary school. The aim of this study was to compare the development of motor coordination, cognitive development, and functional performance in preterm and full‐term children at 4 years of age. The hypothesis investigated was that at this age, considering the same social see more level, children born preterm who are apparently normal have significantly lower motor, cognitive, and functional performance than their full‐term peers. This cross‐sectional, observational study was conducted from June of 2010 to August of 2011, with a convenience sample recruited from patients of the Follow up Clinic for Children at Risk Children (Ambulatório de Acompanhamento

a Criança de Risco – ACRIAR), from two private practices as well as from four public and five private schools in Belo Horizonte, state of Minas Gerais. The study included children aged from 4 years to 4 years and 11 months, divided into two distinct groups according to gestational age and birth weight, matched for gender, age, and socioeconomic status. For sample size calculation, analysis of variance (ANOVA) for two groups was used, assuming the same number of observations per group. For a significance level of 5% and 80% power, a minimum of 45 children per group was estimated, with a total of 90 children. The preterm group (PT) included 62 children with gestational age ≤ 34 weeks and birth weight ≤ 1,500 g, and the full‐term group (FT) group included 62 children with gestational age ≥ 37 weeks and birth weight ≥ 2,500g.