MONDAY, Aug. 19, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Children born prematurely can be categorized into three distinct neurocognitive profiles, according to a study published online Aug. 13 in Child Development.

Iris Menu, Ph.D., from NYU Langone Health in New York City, and colleagues applied a latent profile analysis to the National Institutes of Health Toolbox performance of 1,891 healthy prematurely born children from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study to identify developmental trajectories.

The researchers identified three distinct neurocognitive profiles: (1) consistently performing above the norm; (2) mixed scores; and (3) consistently performing below the norm (19.7, 41.0, and 39.3 percent, respectively). Lasting cognitive, neural, behavioral, and academic differences were seen in association with these profiles.

“Based on these results, we call for the launch of social and structural interventions that ensure all preterm-born children receive equitable care,” Menu said in a statement. “Children that get speech, physical, and behavioral therapy almost every day, which is more likely to happen in affluent households, tend to do better on the study tests, but there are other factors involved. For instance, children in communities where more are covered by health insurance were less likely to belong to profile 3.”

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