The vulnerable preschool child: the impact of biomedical and social risks on neurodevelopmental function
Abstract
The scope of preschool children with biological risk and social disadvantage is large and includes over 1 million (28%) newborns per year. Currently in 1996, 7% of children are born with low birth weight, 1% are born with very low birth weight, 20% have alcohol exposure, and 10% have other drug exposure. Poverty is dynamic and impacts on 25% of children less than 6 years old with increased frequency in children who are minority, have mothers with less than a high school education, or are unmarried. There has been a markedly increased survival in very low birth weight and extremely low birth weight infants in the past 10 years. Outcomes of these neonatal populations reveals that parenchymal brain injury is the major predictor of cerebral palsy which occurs in 7% to 10% of very low birth weight survivors. However, poverty is the major predictor of low IQ. Fetal alcohol syndrome occurs in 1.9 per 1,000 births and is most often associated with mild mental retardation and educational underachievement. Studies investigating cocaine revealed that it is a multifactorial problem overlapping with polysubstance abuse and other risk factors for social disadvantage. The overwhelming number of children do not have cerebral palsy or severe me...Continue Reading
References
Outcome in infants of birth weight 500 to 999 g: a continuing regional study of 5-year-old survivors
Predictors of mortality, morbidity, and disability in a cohort of infants < or = 28 weeks' gestation
Citations
Related Concepts
Related Feeds
Birth Defects
Birth defects encompass structural and functional alterations that occur during embryonic or fetal development and are present since birth. The cause may be genetic, environmental or unknown and can result in physical and/or mental impairment. Here is the latest research on birth defects.
Brain Ischemia
Brain ischemia is a condition in which there is insufficient blood flow to the brain to meet metabolic demand. Discover the latest research on brain ischemia here.