Table 1.
Mean difference plus 95% confidence intervals for parent-report SDQ Total Difficulties and subscale scores in extremely preterm participants and term-born controls by age of assessment
| Age 6 yearsa | Age 11 years | Age 16 years | Age 19 yearsb | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EPT (n = 222) | Control (n = 148) | EPT (n = 209) | Control (n = 148) | EPT (n = 134) | Control (n = 86) | EPT (n = 117) | Control (n = 55) | |
| Age at assessment | ||||||||
| Mean [SD] | 6.3 [0.5] | 6.1 [0.5] | 10.9 [0.4] | 11.0 [0.6] | 17.1 [0.3] | 17.0 [0.3] | 19.3 [0.5] | 19.2 [0.6] |
| Total difficulties score | ||||||||
| Mean (95% confidence interval) | 12.3 (11.4–13.1) | 7.4 (6.6–8.3) | 11.1 (10.1–12.1) | 6.2 (5.2–7.1) | 11.9 (10.6–13.2) | 6.4 (5.3–7.5) | 12.2 (10.9–13.5) | 6.8 (5.3–8.4) |
| Mean difference (95% confidence interval) | 4.8 (3.6–6.1) | 4.9 (3.5–6.4) | 5.5 (3.6–7.3) | 5.3 (3.2–7.5) | ||||
| Abnormal range (17–40), n (%) | 56 (25.5) | 6 (4.1) | 48 (23.0) | 10 (6.8) | 40 (29.9) | 4 (4.7) | 35 (30.2) | 5 (9.1) |
| Emotional symptoms | ||||||||
| Mean (95% confidence interval) | 2.4 (2.2–2.7) | 1.9 (1.6–2.2) | 2.7 (2.4–3.1) | 1.6 (1.3–2.0) | 3.2 (2.8–3.6) | 1.5 (1.1–1.9) | 3.9 (3.4–4.4) | 2.1 (1.5–2.8) |
| Mean difference (95% confidence interval) | 0.6 (0.2–1.0) | 1.1 (0.6–1.6) | 1.7 (1.1–2.3) | 1.7 (0.9–2.6) | ||||
| Abnormal range (5–10), n (%) | 34 (15.4) | 12 (8.2) | 51 (24.4) | 13 (8.8) | 41 (30.6) | 7 (8.1) | 43 (36.8) | 12 (21.8) |
| Conduct problems | ||||||||
| Mean (95% confidence interval) | 2.2 (1.9–2.4) | 1.5 (1.2–1.7) | 1.5 (1.3–1.7) | 1.1 (0.8–1.3) | 1.3 (1.0–1.6) | 1.3 (0.9–1.6) | 1.6 (1.3–1.8) | 1.4 (1.0–1.8) |
| Mean difference (95% confidence interval) | 0.7 (0.3–1.1) | 0.5 (0.1–0.8) | 0.1 (− 0.4 to 0.5) | 0.2 (− 0.3 to 0.6) | ||||
| Abnormal range (4–10), n (%) | 51 (23.2) | 13 (8.8) | 27 (12.9) | 11 (7.4) | 18 (13.4) | 8 (9.3) | 12 (10.3) | 4 (7.3) |
| Hyperactivity/inattention | ||||||||
| Mean (95% confidence interval) | 5.4 (5.1–5.8) | 3.1 (2.7–3.5) | 4.4 (4.0–4.7) | 2.4 (2.1–2.8) | 4.1 (3.6–4.6) | 2.3 (1.8–2.8) | 3.9 (3.4–4.3) | 2.0 (1.4–2.6) |
| Mean difference (95% confidence interval) | 2.3 (1.8–2.9) | 1.9 (1.4–2.5) | 1.8 (1.1–2.6) | 1.8 (1.0–2.7) | ||||
| Abnormal range (7–10), n (%) | 81 (36.5) | 13 (8.8) | 48 (23.0) | 10 (6.8) | 27 (20.2) | 4 (4.7) | 19 (16.2) | 3 (5.5) |
| Peer problems | ||||||||
| Mean (95% confidence interval) | 2.2 (1.9–2.5) | 1.0 (0.8–1.2) | 2.5 (2.1–2.8) | 1.0 (0.8–1.3) | 3.2 (2.8–3.7) | 1.4 (1.0–1.7) | 2.9 (2.5–3.3) | 1.3 (0.8–1.7) |
| Mean difference (95% confidence interval) | 1.2 (0.8–1.6) | 1.4 (1.0–1.9) | 1.9 (1.3–2.5) | 1.6 (1.0–2.3) | ||||
| Abnormal range (4–10), n (%) | 49 (22.2) | 10 (6.8) | 68 (32.5) | 11 (7.4) | 58 (43.3) | 8 (9.3) | 42 (35.9) | 5 (9.1) |
| Prosocial behavior | ||||||||
| Mean (95% confidence interval) | 7.5 (7.2–7.8) | 8.4 (8.1–8.6) | 8.3 (8.0–8.6) | 9.0 (8.8–9.2) | 7.8 (7.4–8.2) | 8.4 (8.0–8.8) | 7.6 (7.1–8.1) | 8.3 (7.8–8.8) |
| Mean difference (95% confidence interval) | − 0.9 (− 1.3 to − 0.4) | − 0.8 (− 1.2 to − 0.3) | − 0.6 (− 1.2 to − 0.02) | − 0.7 (− 1.5 to 0.07) | ||||
| Abnormal range (0–4), n (%) | 18 (8.3) | 0 (0.0) | 16 (7.7) | 0 (0.0) | 17 (12.7) | 4 (4.7) | 17 (14.7) | 3 (5.6) |
| Impact scorec | ||||||||
| Mean (95% confidence interval) | 1.3 (1.0–1.5) | 0.3 (0.1–0.4) | 1.4 (1.1–1.7) | 0.3 (0.1–0.6) | 2.1 (1.6–2.6) | 0.5 (0.2–0.8) | 2.1 (1.6–2.6) | 0.8 (0.2–1.3) |
| Mean difference (95% confidence interval) | 1.0 (0.6–1.4) | 1.0 (0.6–1.4) | 1.6 (0.9–2.3) | 1.4 (0.6–2.2) | ||||
| Abnormal range (2–10), n (%) | 63 (28.8) | 8 (5.4) | 61 (29.5) | 10 (6.9) | 49 (37.2) | 8 (9.3) | 49 (42.6) | 7 (12.7) |
Higher scores indicate more behavioral problems (except for Prosocial Behavior where a higher score indicates greater sociability)
a4 EPT participants and 2 controls had at least one missing subscale score at age 6 years
b1 EPT child and 1 control had at least one missing subscale score at age 19 years
cMissing data at 6 years: 3 EPT, 11 years: 3 EPT and 2 control, 16 years: 8 EPT, 19 years: 2 EPT