Late Preterm Infants Are Not at Increased Risk for ADHD or Learning Disabilities

Late preterm infants (gestational age, 34 to <37 weeks) have increased risk for neonatal complications (e.g., hyperbilirubinemia, hypoglycemia, respiratory distress, apnea, and dehydration), but studies on long-term neurodevelopmental problems from clinic-referred samples have reported conflicting results. The availability of medical and educational records of all children born between 1976 and 1982 in Rochester, Minnesota, offered a unique opportunity to retrospectively compare the prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities (LD) in late preterm and term infants in a population-based cohort.

Of 5699 children (>98% white) who still resided in the community after age 5 years, 256 (4.5%) were born between 34 and <37 weeks' gestation (the late preterm group) and 4419 (77.5%) were born between 37 and <42 weeks gestation (term group). Perinatal complications were significantly more frequent in late preterm infants than in term infants (9.8% vs. 2.0%). However, the cumulative incidence of ADHD or LD by age 19 years did not differ significantly between the two groups (ADHD, 7.7% vs. 7.2%; reading LD, 14.2% vs. 13.1%; written language LD, 13.5% vs. 15.7%; and math LD, 16.1% vs. 15.5%).