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Abstract:
Abstract: Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) has a
significant impact on academic and cognitive functioning during the
pre-school and early elementary school years. To what extent IUGR
affects academic and cognitive ability beyond these years is
unknown. The present study evaluated the relationship between
in-utero stunting of head growth and cognitive and academic ability
in the late elementary and adolescent years. Twenty-three children
who were born small-for-gestational age (SGA) were divided into two
groups based upon head circumference at birth (1. Poor head
growth:< 3rd percentile for gestational age, n = 12, and
2.Good head growth:>3rd percentile for gestational age, n =
11). The groups were matched to one another, and to 15 full-term
children with respect to age at testing and sociodemographic
variables. Multivariate analyses of variance indicated that SGA
children with good head growth in-utero performed as well as
full-term children on tests of academic achievement and verbal
intelligence. In contrast, SGA children with poor head growth
in-utero obtained significantly lower scores than full-term
children on all measures except reading ability. These findings
suggest that poor brain development in-utero, rather than SGA
status per se, has a long-lasting impact on the development of
cognitive and academic abilities.
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