Neuropsychological deficits in young adults born small-for-gestational age (SGA) at term

J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2014 Mar;20(3):313-23. doi: 10.1017/S1355617714000034. Epub 2014 Feb 24.

Abstract

Reduced IQ, learning difficulties and poor school performance have been reported in small-for-gestational-age (SGA) subjects. However, few studies include a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. Our aim was to study neuropsychological functioning in young adults born SGA at term. A comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was administered to 58 SGA subjects (birth weight <10th centile) born at term, and 81 term non-SGA controls (birth weight ≥10th centile). The SGA group obtained significantly (p < .01) lower scores on the attention, executive and memory domains compared to non-SGA controls and showed higher risk of obtaining scores below -1.5 SD on the memory domain (odds ratio = 13.3, 95% confidence interval: 1.57, 112.47). At a subtest level, the SGA group obtained lower scores on most neuropsychological tests, with significant differences on 6 of 46 measures: the Trail Making Test 3 (letter sequencing), the Wechsler Memory Scale mental control and the auditory immediate memory scale, the Design Fluency, the Stroop 3 (inhibition) and the Visual Motor Integration (VMI) motor coordination subtest. Young adults born SGA score more poorly on neuropsychological tests compared with non-SGA controls. Differences were modest, with more significant differences in the memory domain.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cognition Disorders* / diagnosis
  • Cognition Disorders* / epidemiology
  • Cognition Disorders* / etiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant, Small for Gestational Age*
  • Male
  • Neuropsychological Tests*
  • Statistics, Nonparametric