Attention difficulties in a contemporary geographic cohort of adolescents born extremely preterm/extremely low birth weight

The aim of this study was to evaluate attention difficulties in a contemporary geographic cohort of adolescents born extremely preterm (EP, 2499 g) who were recruited in the newborn period and matched to the EP/ELBW group on date of birth, gender, language spoken and health insurance status. Participants were assessed on measures of selective, sustained, and executive (shift and divided) attention, and parents and participants completed behavioral reports. The EP/ELBW group performed more poorly across tests of selective and executive attention, had greater rates of clinically significant difficulties compared with the control group, and also had greater behavioral attention problems as reported by parents. Neonatal risk factors were weakly associated with attention outcomes. In conclusion, higher rates of attention impairments are observed in individuals born EP/ELBW well into adolescence and may have consequences for their transition to adulthood. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1–12)Michelle Wilson-Ching, Carly S. Molloy, Vicki A. Anderson, Alice Burnett, Gehan Roberts, Jeanie L.Y. Cheong, Lex W. Doyle and Peter J. Anderso