Findings independent of socioeconomic, genetic, and other risk factors<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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FRIDAY, April 25, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Moderately preterm birth is associated with cognitive problems at ages 9 to 10 years, according to a study published online April 14 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Samson Nivins, Ph.D., from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues investigated the long-term cognitive outcomes of children born at various gestational ages: very preterm (28 to 31 weeks), moderately preterm (32 to 33 weeks), late preterm (34 to 36 weeks), and early term (37 to 38 weeks) versus full term (\u226539 weeks) when accounting for genetics and other risk factors. The analysis included 5,946 children (ages 9 to 10 years).<\/p>\n The researchers found that compared with full-term children, those born moderately preterm had significantly lower composite cognitive scores (\u03b2\u2009=\u2009\u22120.39) and significantly lower scores in vocabulary (\u03b2\u2009=\u2009\u22120.36), working memory (\u03b2\u2009=\u2009\u22120.27), episodic memory (\u03b2\u2009=\u2009\u22120.32), and both short-delay recall (\u03b2\u2009=\u2009\u22120.36) and long-delay recall (\u03b2\u2009=\u2009\u22120.29). These associations were independent of socioeconomic status, polygenic scores for cognitive performance, and other risk factors. The lowest cognitive scores were seen among children born at \u226432 weeks, while late-preterm and early-term children performed similarly to full-term peers.<\/p>\n “These findings underscore the need for continued follow-up of all preterm children, with particular focus on those born before 34 weeks\u2019 gestational age, because they may face greater developmental challenges over time,” the authors write.<\/p>\n