Table 1.
Summary of the perinatal and 11‐year characteristics by treatment group
| Characteristic | Caffeine n = 63 | Placebo n = 54 | Mean difference (95% CI) | P‐value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Around birth 1 | ||||
| Birth weight in grams | 960 (188) | 935 (184) | 26 (−43, 94) | 0.46 |
| Gestational age at birth in weeks | 27.7 (1.7) | 27.4 (1.7) | 0.3 (−0.3, 0.9) | 0.36 |
| Male sex, n (%) | 28 (44.4) | 30 (55.6) | OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.3, 1.3 | 0.23 |
| Multiple births, n (%) | 21 (33.3) | 16 (29.6) | OR 1.2, 95% CI 0.5, 2.6 | 0.67 |
| Cystic periventricular leukomalacia, n (%) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (1.9) | NA | NA |
| Intraventricular hemorrhage grade 3/4, n (%) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (3.7) | NA | NA |
| Bronchopulmonary dysplasia, n (%) | 18 (28.6) | 33 (61.1) | OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.1, 0.6 | 0.001 |
| Patent ductus arteriosus, n (%) | 12 (19.1) | 22 (40.7) | OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.1, 0.8 | 0.01 |
| Corrected postmenstrual age at MRI in weeks | 40.7 (1.1) 3 | 40.9 (1.4) 4 | −0.1 (−0.9, 0.6) | 0.71 |
| Mother completed post‐secondary school education, n (%) | 25 (41.0) 7 | 18 (33.3) | OR 1.4, 95% CI 0.6, 3.0 | 0.40 |
| At 11 years 2 | ||||
| Corrected age at MRI in years | 11.3 (0.4) | 11.3 (0.4) | 0.03 (−0.1, 0.2) | 0.69 |
| Corrected age at neurodevelopmental assessment in years | 11.3 (0.4) | 11.3 (0.4) | 0.03 (−0.1, 0.2) | 0.69 |
| IQ | ||||
| Full scale | 95.2 (12.4) | 96.9 (13.4) 5 | −1.6 (−6.4, 3.1) | 0.50 |
| Verbal comprehension index | 97.3 (11.5) | 97.5 (13.7) 5 | −0.2 (−4.9, 4.4) | 0.93 |
| Perceptual reasoning index | 94.5 (15.5) | 96.8 (15.7) | −2.3 (−8.0, 3.4) | 0.43 |
| Wide range achievement test | ||||
| Word reading standard score | 98.5 (15.2) | 97.1 (13.1) | 1.5 (−3.8, 6.7) | 0.58 |
| Sentence comprehension standard score | 100.0 (13.9) | 100.2 (15.9) | −0.2 (−5.7, 5.2) | 0.94 |
| Spelling standard score | 96.9 (13.4) | 95.5 (14.9) | 1.4 (−3.8, 6.6) | 0.59 |
| Math computation standard score | 86.4 (14.1) | 89.1 (15.4) | −2.8 (−8.2, 2.6) | 0.31 |
| Digit span | ||||
| Forwards | 7.3 (2.7) 5 | 7.8 (2.8) | −0.5 (−1.5, 0.6) | 0.38 |
| Backwards | 8.4 (2.5) 5 | 8.4 (2.2) | 0.1 (−0.8, 0.9) | 0.88 |
| Beery VMI | ||||
| Visual perception standard score | 95.9 (11.6) | 94.1 (13.9) | 1.8 (−2.9, 6.4) | 0.45 |
| Motor coordination standard score | 92.1 (12.6) | 90.4 (15.5) | 1.7 (−3.4, 6.8) | 0.51 |
| Movement ABC | ||||
| Total standard score | 9.2 (3.2) 6 | 8.7 (2.9) 5 | 0.5 (−0.6, 1.7) | 0.37 |
| Manual dexterity standard score | 8.1 (3.1) 7 | 8.1 (2.9) 5 | 0.03 (−1.1, 1.2) | 0.95 |
| Aiming/catching standard score | 10.3 (3.8) 5 | 9.6 (0.5) 5 | 0.7 (−0.7, 2.0) | 0.33 |
| Balance standard score | 10.1 (3.4) 7 | 9.6 (2.6) 5 | 0.6 (−0.6, 1.7) | 0.33 |
| Cerebral palsy, n (%) | 5 (7.9) | 2 (3.7) | OR 2.2, 95% CI 0.4, 12.1 | 0.35 |
| Blindness, n (%) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | NA | NA |
| Deafness, n (%) | 1 (4.8) 3 | 2 (9.5) 3 | OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.04, 5.7 | 0.56 |
Data are mean (SD), unless otherwise stated.
ABC, Assessment battery for children; CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; NA, not applicable; VMI, visual motor integration test.
Perinatal data were collected by chart review. Intraventricular hemorrhage was defined as described previously.40 Bronchopulmonary dysplasia was defined as requirement for supplemental oxygen at 36 weeks’ postmenstrual age. Patent ductus arteriosus was defined as any case requiring medical or surgical treatment. We did not have data on retinopathy of prematurity.
Data on functional outcomes at 11 years of age (cognitive, academic, motor and behavioral outcomes) were collected as detailed previously.5 We did not collect any data on pubertal development.
n = 21.
n = 22.
n = 1 with missing data.
n = 3 with missing data.
n = 2 with missing data.