A longitudinal study on eraly development of behavioral problems for extremely-low-birthweight children.

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Our subjects were very- / extremely-low-birthweight infants. At first, In NICU, they were rated by nurses using the Neonatal Behavioral Rating Scale - abbreviated (N=24). At the ages of 4, 10, 18 months, the Kyoto Developmental Test was administrated and infants' behaviors were videotaped during testing and analyzed by one-zero sampling method (N=42). We found that the infants, who were rated as more active in NICU, showed the higher frequency of crying at 4 months of age (p=0.07). The infants, who were rated as more irritable, less soothable, less cuddly, or having poorer reinforcement value (less attractive for a caregiver) in NICU, showed higher frequency of lower-limbs movements at 4 months (p<0.1, p<0.1, p<0.1, p<0.05, respectively). The infants, who were rated as less cuddly, also showed higher frequency of upper-limbs movements at 4 months (p<0.05). The infants, who showed higher frequency of upper- and lower- limbs movements at 4 months, showed lower frequency of visual fixation toward a tester at 10 months (p<0.05, p<0.1). The less frequent visual fixation toward a tester at 10 months might be a precursor of future inattention, and the more frequent movements of upper- and lower- limbs at 4 months also might be an earlier precursor of future inattention. Especially, the children, who showed frequent lower-limb movements, were rated as more irritable, less soothable, less cuddly, and having poorer reinforcement value in NICU.Some of our subjects were also the subjects for our early intervention project. We should continue to follow up long-term sequelae of our subjects. Effects of early intervention on appearance of behavioral problems remain to be investigated in future.