TY - JOUR

T1 - Attention problems in very preterm children from childhood to adulthood

T2 - the Bavarian Longitudinal Study

AU - Breeman, Linda D.

AU - Jaekel, Julia

AU - Baumann, Nicole

AU - Bartmann, Peter

AU - Wolke, Dieter

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2015 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

PY - 2016/2/1

Y1 - 2016/2/1

N2 - Background: Very preterm (VP; gestational age <32 weeks) and very low birth weight (VLBW; <1500 grams) is related to attention problems in childhood and adulthood. The stability of these problems into adulthood is not known. Methods: The Bavarian Longitudinal Study is a prospective cohort study that followed 260 VP/VLBW and 229 term-born individuals from birth to adulthood. Data on attention were collected at 6, 8, and 26 years of age, using parent reports, expert behavior observations, and clinical ADHD diagnoses. Results: At each assessment, VP/VLBW individuals had significantly more attention problems, shorter attention span, and were more frequently diagnosed with ADHD than term-born comparisons. In both VP/VLBW and term-born individuals, overall, attention span increased and attention problems decreased from childhood to adulthood. Attention problems and attention span were more stable over time for VP/VLBW than term-born individuals. Similarly, ADHD diagnoses showed moderate stability from childhood to adulthood in VP/VLBW, but not in term-born individuals. However, when those with severe disabilities were excluded, differences between VP/VLBW and term-born individuals reduced. Conclusions: Despite improvement in attention regulation from childhood to adulthood, children born very preterm remained at increased risk for attention problems in adulthood. In contrast, term-born children with clinical attention problems outgrew these by adulthood. As inattentive behavior of VP/VLBW children may be overlooked by teachers, it may be necessary to raise awareness for school intervention programs that reduce attention problems in VP/VLBW children.

AB - Background: Very preterm (VP; gestational age <32 weeks) and very low birth weight (VLBW; <1500 grams) is related to attention problems in childhood and adulthood. The stability of these problems into adulthood is not known. Methods: The Bavarian Longitudinal Study is a prospective cohort study that followed 260 VP/VLBW and 229 term-born individuals from birth to adulthood. Data on attention were collected at 6, 8, and 26 years of age, using parent reports, expert behavior observations, and clinical ADHD diagnoses. Results: At each assessment, VP/VLBW individuals had significantly more attention problems, shorter attention span, and were more frequently diagnosed with ADHD than term-born comparisons. In both VP/VLBW and term-born individuals, overall, attention span increased and attention problems decreased from childhood to adulthood. Attention problems and attention span were more stable over time for VP/VLBW than term-born individuals. Similarly, ADHD diagnoses showed moderate stability from childhood to adulthood in VP/VLBW, but not in term-born individuals. However, when those with severe disabilities were excluded, differences between VP/VLBW and term-born individuals reduced. Conclusions: Despite improvement in attention regulation from childhood to adulthood, children born very preterm remained at increased risk for attention problems in adulthood. In contrast, term-born children with clinical attention problems outgrew these by adulthood. As inattentive behavior of VP/VLBW children may be overlooked by teachers, it may be necessary to raise awareness for school intervention programs that reduce attention problems in VP/VLBW children.

KW - ADHD

KW - attention

KW - longitudinal studies

KW - low birth weight

KW - prematurity

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84940100303&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/jcpp.12456

DO - 10.1111/jcpp.12456

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 26287264

AN - SCOPUS:84940100303

VL - 57

SP - 132

EP - 140

JO - Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry

JF - Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry

SN - 0021-9630

IS - 2

ER -