Inter- and intra-modal matching in very low birth weight and small for gestational age adolescents

BackgroundMotor problems in low birth weight children may be related to problems in sensorimotor integration processes. Specific tests of inter- and intra-modal matching have not been used in low birth weight populations.AimExamine whether low birth weight adolescents have poorer performance in inter- and intra-modal matching than normal birth weight adolescents.Study designA population based follow up study of very low birth weight and small for gestational age children at 14 years of age.SubjectsFifty-three very low birth weight adolescents (VLBW: birth weight ≤ 1500 g), 59 term small for gestational age (SGA: birth weight < 10th centile) and 82 adolescents with birth weight ≥ 10th centile at term (reference group).Outcome measuresInter- and intra-modal matching was assessed by a manual matching task and results were presented for the preferred and the non-preferred hand in the visual (inter-modal) and proprioceptive (intra-modal) condition.ResultsVLBW adolescents performed poorer in inter- and intra-modal matching compared with the reference group. However, the results were mainly due to a higher number of adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) and a low estimated intelligence quotient (IQest) in the VLBW group. SGA adolescents showed poorer performance with their non-preferred hand compared with their preferred hand in both inter- and intra-modal matching, whereas adolescents in the reference group and VLBW adolescents with normal IQest and without CP performed equally well with both hands.ConclusionVLBW adolescents with normal IQest and without CP do not have major problems in inter- and intra-modal matching. The poorer performance with the non-preferred hand in the SGA group may suggest a specific effect of intrauterine growth retardation.