Original ArticleSegmental Brain Volumes and Cognitive and Perceptual Correlates in 15-Year-Old Adolescents with Low Birth Weight
Section snippets
Methods
In a follow-up study of 15-year-old children, we examined 2 groups with low birth weights, that is, prematurely born infants with very low birth weight (VLBW) and term SGA births. These groups were compared with a group of term normal-weight births. The VLBW children were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at the University Hospital in Trondheim (the referral hospital) from 1986 to 1988. The SGA and control group children were the second or third births to mothers living in the
Results
The VLBW subjects had significantly lower gestational age than the control subjects (Table I). Birth weight, Z score of birth weight, and head circumference were significantly reduced in the VLBW and SGA groups. The VLBW adolescents were approximately 4 to 5 months younger than the control adolescents when they were scanned.
The brain volume of the 3 study groups are presented in Table II (available at www.jpeds.com). The differences in brain structures were explored in relation to the total
Discussion
We found that low birth weight was associated with reduced brain volume in adolescents. Whereas prematurity was associated with a reduction in specific brain regions, term low birth weight was associated with a lower scaling of the brain. The age at scan was an important determining factor in regional brain volume, and our findings, which showed a decrease in cortical gray matter and an increase in white matter volume by age, are consistent with other reports.18 The most common brain
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Funding information available at www.jpeds.com (Appendix). A.M.D. and B.F. are funded by CorTechs Labs, Inc. A.M.D. has equity in CorTechs Labs, Inc. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.