Using different definitions affected the reported prevalence of neurodevelopmental impairment in children born very preterm.

AIM: We investigated the impact of varying definitions on the prevalence of neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) in children born very preterm at 6.5 years of age.

METHODS: Cognitive development and neurosensory impairments were assessed in 91 children (40/51 girls/boys) born <32 gestational weeks, in 2004-2007 in Uppsala county, Sweden. The results were compared with data from a reference group of 67 children born full term. The prevalence of NDI in the present cohort was reported according to definitions used by seven contemporary studies of children born very or extremely preterm.

RESULTS: The prevalence of severe NDI varied from 2% to 23% depending on the definition used. The prevalence of cognitive impairment varied from 2% (-3 SD according to test norms) to 16% (-2 SD according to control group), the prevalence of cerebral palsy from 0% (severe) to 9% (any), and the prevalence of severe visual impairment from 0% (blindness) to 1% (visual acuity <0.3). There were no children with severe hearing impairment.

CONCLUSION: A high variability in definitions affect the reporting of the prevalence of NDI in long-term follow-up studies of very or extremely preterm born children. There is a need for a better consensus to enable comparisons across studies.