Original ArticlesHealth status development in a cohort of preterm children☆
Section snippets
Sample
In a nationwide cohort of VPT and VLBW infants, 94% (n = 1338) of all infants, born alive in 1983 in The Netherlands, with a gestational age of <32 completed weeks and/or a birth weight <1500 g were enrolled. Prospective data collection was performed during infancy and at 5 and 10 years of age. Of the 966 survivors, 96% (n = 927) could be enrolled at 5 years of age, and 74% (n = 688) at 10 years of age. The non-response group at 10 years of age included more children with low social economic
Relationships Between HS Variables With Age
The average proportion of variance accounted for by the principal component analysis in 2 dimensions is 31%. Dimension 1 accounts for 21%, which is equivalent to a Cronbach’s α of.76, and dimension 2 accounts for 10%, which is equivalent to an α of.46.18 According to the principal component analysis, 35% of the children had HS problems at both ages and 32% had no HS problems at either age. The remaining third either had problems at age 5 years (16%) or at age 10 years (17%). The variables were
Discussion
Two thirds of the study group had HS problems, which were mostly minor, at either one or both assessments. Not surprisingly, children without handicaps have far fewer basic functioning and concentration problems than children with handicaps do, and children with a combination of handicaps show the most problems. Negative moods are relevant at 10 years of age in children with a cognitive or a sensory handicap, but also in preterm children without a handicap. A similar result with respect to this
Acknowledgements
We thank all participants from the Collaborative Project on Preterm and Small for Gestational Age (POPS) Infant in The Netherlands. We also thank Dr G. H. W. Verrips for his critical review of the manuscript. We are indebted to the parents for their participation.
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Reprint requests: Nicolet C. M. Theunissen, PhD, Department of Health Psychology, Utrecht University, PO Box 80140, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands (e-mail:[email protected] ).