Functional abilities at age 4 years of children born before 29 weeks of gestation.

Abstract

To assess the rate of impairment and disability among babies born very preterm and to investigate the association between such impairment and gestational age at birth. Cohort study of a geographically defined population of babies. Oxford Regional Health Authority. All babies born alive before 29 weeks of gestation to mothers resident in the region during 1984-6. Survival rates and rates of impairment and disability among survivors at the age of 4 years. Of the 342 babies, half (170) survived to be discharged home. Of the 164 survivors to age 4 years, 153 (93%) were assessed. A total of 35 (23%; 95% confidence interval 16% to 30%) were severely disabled and only 54 (35%; 28% to 43%) were unimpaired. The risk of impairment and disability increased with decreasing gestational age at birth (p < 0.003). With the increasing survival rate among babies born before 29 weeks of gestation, we need urgently to establish reliable ways of monitoring the proportion of survivors who have a disability.