A new study has warned that babies who are born preterm are at an increased risk for neuro-cognitive deficits.
Psychologists from the Ruhr-Universitat Bochum and the University of Warwick, UK have investigated the relation between the duration of pregnancy and cognitive abilities under varying work load conditions.
Preterm Birth Affects Ability to Solve Complex Tasks
Preterm born babies goes hand in hand with an increased risk for neuro-cognitive deficits.
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"Cognitive performance deficits of children dramatically increase as cognitive workload of tasks increases and pregnancy duration decreases," says Dr Julia Jakel from the Ruhr-Universitat.
The research team tested 1326 children, born between weeks 23 and 41 of pregnancy, at an age of eight years. Data were collected as part of the prospective Bavarian Longitudinal Study.
![Rising Rate of Preterm Births Linked to Both Spontaneous and Medically Induced Preterm Births]( "Rising Rate of Preterm Births Linked to Both Spontaneous and Medically Induced Preterm Births")
The rising rate of preterm birth in Scotland is as much a result of an increase in spontaneous preterm birth as it is of preterm birth that is medically-induced
The children took part in a range of cognitive tests with varying workload. High workload tasks require the simultaneous integration of different sources of information, thereby placing high demands on the so-called working memory.
The results: The higher the workload and the shorter the pregnancy duration, the larger were the cognitive performance deficits.
Deficits were disproportionally higher for children born before the 34th week of pregnancy compared with children born after week 33. Being born preterm specifically affected the ability to solve high workload tasks, whereas lower workload tasks were largely unaffected.
According to the researchers, these results should be taken into account for routine cognitive follow-ups of preterm children as well as for planning school lessons.
The study has been published in the journal Plos One.
Source: ANI
Rising Rate of Preterm Births Linked to Both Spontaneous and Medically Induced Preterm Births
The rising rate of preterm birth in Scotland is as much a result of an increase in spontaneous preterm birth as it is of preterm birth that is medically-induced
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The children took part in a range of cognitive tests with varying workload. High workload tasks require the simultaneous integration of different sources of information, thereby placing high demands on the so-called working memory.
The results: The higher the workload and the shorter the pregnancy duration, the larger were the cognitive performance deficits.
Deficits were disproportionally higher for children born before the 34th week of pregnancy compared with children born after week 33. Being born preterm specifically affected the ability to solve high workload tasks, whereas lower workload tasks were largely unaffected.
According to the researchers, these results should be taken into account for routine cognitive follow-ups of preterm children as well as for planning school lessons.
The study has been published in the journal Plos One.
Source: ANI
Residing in US Increases Risk of Preterm Birth
New research indicates that the duration of stay in the United States is associated with increased risk of preterm birth for Hispanic women.
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 Study Links Brain Malformations To Preterm BirthBrain malformations are significantly associated with preterm birth, according to new research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. | Advertisement
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