PEDIATRICS Vol. 93 No. 4 April 1994, pp. 576-579
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Verloove-Vanhorick, S. P.
Right arrow Articles by Brand, R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Verloove-Vanhorick, S. P.
Right arrow Articles by Brand, R.

Sex Difference in Disability and Handicap at Five Years of Age in Children Born at Very Short Gestation

S. P. Verloove-Vanhorick MD, PhD1, S. Veen MD2, J. H. Ruys MD, PhD2, M. H. Ens-Dokkum MD3, A. M. Schreuder MD4, and R. Brand PhD5

1 TNO Institute of Preventive Health Care, Leiden; Department of Pediatrics, Neonatal Unit, University Hospital, Leiden
2 Department of Pediatrics, Neonatal Unit, University Hospital, Leiden
3 Institute for Deaf Children and Adolescents "Effatha" Voorburg, Zoetermeer, Academic Centre for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry "Curium", Oegstgeest
4 Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Sophia Children's Hospital, Erasmus University and University Hospital, Rotterdam
5 Department of Medical Statistics, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

Objective. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between sex and disabilities or handicaps at 5 years of age in infants born at less than 32 weeks gestation.

Design. From the nationwide collaborative survey starting in 1983, including perinatal data obtained during routine perinatal care and follow-up assessments by the attending pediatricians, data from 1008 infants fulfilling the criteria were used. At age 5 years, a detailed assessment was performed by three specially trained pediatricians in 96% surviving infants (n = 648), of which 345 were boys. Each child was categorized as disabled or handicapped, using World Health Organization definitions.

Results. The prevalence of handicaps was three times greater in boys than in girls (21% vs 7%, odds ratio 3.2). Adjustment for gestational age and birth weight (logistic regression analysis) did not change this (odds ratio 3.5). Further adjustment by including perinatal variables such as idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome did not alter the odds ratios. The male excess in handicaps was not related to lower mortality, and therefore was not a mere consequence of a higher survival rate. The excess in handicaps was found in all assessed areas.

Conclusions. Infants' sex seems to be an important determinant of handicaps. The perinatal variables used in the present study do not explain the difference in handicaps. These findings emphasize the need to include the sex distribution of a study population more systematically in analyses in future studies concerning long-term outcome of very preterm birth or low birth weight.

Submitted on May 20, 1993
Accepted on August 24, 1993




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 PediatricsHome page
G. A. Lodygensky, K. Rademaker, S. Zimine, M. Gex-Fabry, A. F. Lieftink, F. Lazeyras, F. Groenendaal, L. S. de Vries, and P. S. Huppi
Structural and Functional Brain Development After Hydrocortisone Treatment for Neonatal Chronic Lung Disease
Pediatrics, July 1, 2005; 116(1): 1 - 7.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
A. R. Laptook, T. M. O' Shea, S. Shankaran, B. Bhaskar, and and the NICHD Neonatal Network
Adverse Neurodevelopmental Outcomes Among Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants With a Normal Head Ultrasound: Prevalence and Antecedents
Pediatrics, March 1, 2005; 115(3): 673 - 680.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JAMAHome page
L. R. Ment, B. Vohr, W. Allan, K. H. Katz, K. C. Schneider, M. Westerveld, C. C. Duncan, and R. W. Makuch
Change in Cognitive Function Over Time in Very Low-Birth-Weight Infants
JAMA, February 12, 2003; 289(6): 705 - 711.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
J. Zeitlin, M.-J. Saurel-Cubizolles, J. de Mouzon, L. Rivera, P.-Y. Ancel, B. Blondel, and M. Kaminski
Fetal sex and preterm birth: are males at greater risk?
Hum. Reprod., October 1, 2002; 17(10): 2762 - 2768.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JAMAHome page
A. T. Bhutta, M. A. Cleves, P. H. Casey, M. M. Cradock, and K. J. S. Anand
Cognitive and Behavioral Outcomes of School-Aged Children Who Were Born Preterm: A Meta-analysis
JAMA, August 14, 2002; 288(6): 728 - 737.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 NEJMHome page
M. Hack, D. J. Flannery, M. Schluchter, L. Cartar, E. Borawski, and N. Klein
Outcomes in Young Adulthood for Very-Low-Birth-Weight Infants
N. Engl. J. Med., January 17, 2002; 346(3): 149 - 157.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
M. Hack, D. Wilson-Costello, H. Friedman, G. H. Taylor, M. Schluchter, and A. A. Fanaroff
Neurodevelopment and Predictors of Outcomes of Children With Birth Weights of Less Than 1000 g: 1992-1995
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, July 1, 2000; 154(7): 725 - 731.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 International Journal of Behavioral DevelopmentHome page
P. Robaey, P. Dobkin, J.-M. Leclerc, F. Cyr, C. Sauerwein, and Y. Theoret
A comprehensive model of the development of mental handicap in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: A synthesis of the literature
International Journal of Behavioral Development, March 1, 2000; 24(1): 44 - 58.
[Abstract] [PDF]