Peer-reviewed article
Outcomes at school-age of children born extremely preterm or extremely low birth weight in Victoria, Australia: protocol for the 8-9 years follow-up of the prospective, longitudinal Victorian Infant Collaborative Study (VICS) 2016-2017 cohort.
Cheong JLY, Nguyen TN, Olsen JE, Pigdon L, Du Berry C et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This is a protocol for a follow-up study of extremely premature and extremely low birth weight children in Australia, examining their health and development at school age (8-9 years). The study builds on previous assessments from the Victorian Infant Collaborative Study and compares outcomes across four birth cohorts since 1991. Researchers will assess cognitive, motor, social, behavioural development and lung function in children born extremely preterm or with extremely low birth weight against term-born controls. The study aims to determine whether improvements seen at age 2 are sustained into school age.
Key points
- Children born extremely preterm (<28 weeks) or extremely low birth weight (<1000g) are at increased risk of neurodevelopmental and respiratory difficulties
- The 2016-2017 cohort showed improvements in 2-year developmental outcomes compared to earlier eras, but sustainability to school-age is unknown
- The study follows children at 8-9 years corrected age with comprehensive assessments of cognitive, motor, social, behavioural development and lung function
- The research tracks EP/ELBW outcomes across four distinct birth cohorts spanning 1991-2017
- Contemporaneous term-born controls are included for comparison
Limitations
This is a protocol paper that describes an intended study rather than reporting results. Therefore, it cannot tell us what the actual outcomes are for the children or whether improvements observed at age 2 persist to school age.
Abstract
Introduction Children born extremely preterm (EP; <28 weeks' gestation) and/or extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1000 g) are at increased risk of difficulties across a range of neurodevelopmental domains and respiratory outcomes long term. The Victorian Infant Collaborative Study (VICS) in Australia has tracked detailed perinatal and developmental outcomes across four distinct EP/ELBW birth cohorts: 1991-1992, 1997, 2005 and 2016-2017. Improvements in 2-year developmental outcomes were reported in the VICS 2016-2017 cohort compared with previous eras; however, whether these improvements are sustained to school-age is not known. The aim of the follow-up study is to assess neurodevelopmental and respiratory outcomes at school-age in the VICS 2016-2017 cohort and examine the effect of EP/ELBW birth on school-age functioning across the VICS epochs. Methods and analysis This is a follow-up of the VICS 2016-2017 cohort, a prospective longitudinal cohort study of children born EP/ELBW and a contemporaneous group of term-born controls born in the state of Victoria, Australia. Children were previously assessed at 2 years' corrected age.Follow-up at 8-9 years' corrected age includes a comprehensive assessment of cognitive, motor, social and behavioural development and lung function.Follow-up at 8-9 years' corrected age includes a comprehensive assessment of cognitive, motor, social and behavioural development and lung function. Ethics and dissemination The study has approval from the Royal Children's Hospital Human Research Ethics Committee, Melbourne, Australia. The findings will be disseminated via peer-reviewed journal publications, conference presentations, digital and print media and through parent support/network groups.