Construction and validation of scale factors and attitudes associated with parenting of children with high-risk birth.

BACKGROUND: High-risk birth is a public health problem that generates atypical parenting practices. This study aimed to identify these practices to construct and validate a scale to measure parenting factors and attitudes in children with high-risk birth parents. METHODS: The instrument was applied to an intentional non-probabilistic sample of 701 parents of children with high-risk births (age range 17-64 years). The scale consists of 56 items, each with five Likert-type response options. RESULTS: As a result of the factor analysis with Varimax rotation, the final version was divided into two subscales: factors and attitudes associated with parenting skills. In the first, with 36 items and six factors (low educational skills, overprotection, and permissive parenting, dissatisfaction with the parental role, stress in raising a child with a high-risk birth, tri-generational disapproval of the parental role, and positive support from the extended family), a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.90 was obtained, explaining 53.16 of the variance. In the second subscale, with 30 items grouped in four factors (parenting beliefs, negative coping with high-risk birth, self-validation in parenting, and parental resilience to the experience of high-risk birth parenting), a Cronbach's alpha of 0.82 was obtained, explaining 48.08 of the variance. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that this scale be applied together with others that measure theoretically related variables.

INTRODUCCIÓN: El nacimiento de alto riesgo es un problema de salud pública que genera prácticas de crianza atípicas. El objetivo de este estudio fue identificar estas prácticas para construir y validar una escala para medir factores y actitudes de la crianza en los padres de niños con nacimiento de alto riesgo. MÉTODOS: La escala consta de 56 reactivos con cinco opciones de respuesta tipo Likert. El instrumento se aplicó a una muestra no probabilística de 701 padres de niños con nacimiento de alto riesgo (rango de edad: 17-64 años). RESULTADOS: Como resultado del análisis factorial con rotación Varimax, la versión final se dividió en dos subescalas: factores y actitudes asociados con la crianza. En la primera, con 36 reactivos y seis factores (bajas habilidades educativas, sobreprotección y crianza permisiva, insatisfacción ante el rol parental ejercido, estrés ante la crianza de un niño con nacimiento de alto riesgo, desaprobación trigeneracional en el rol parental y apoyo positivo de la familia extensa), se obtuvo un valor alfa de Cronbach de 0.90, explicando el 53.16 de la varianza. En la segunda subescala, con 30 reactivos y cuatro factores (creencias ante la crianza, afrontamiento negativo ante el nacimiento de alto riesgo, autovalidación en la crianza y resiliencia parental ante la experiencia de la crianza y el nacimiento de alto riesgo), se obtuvo un valor alfa de Cronbach de 0.82, explicando el 48.08 de la varianza. CONCLUSIONES: Se sugiere la aplicación de esta escala junto con otras que midan variables teóricamente relacionadas.

Relación entre la adquisición del gateo y la marcha independiente en el niño de alto riesgo en seguimiento / Relationship between gait acquisition and independent gait in the high-risk child in follow-up

Resumen Introducción: El gateo representa la primera forma de locomoción autónoma. Se han mencionado las implicaciones de la adquisición del gateo para lograr la marcha independiente y el control motor en el niño, pero son pocos los estudios relacionados con el gateo y sus efectos en el niño de alto riesgo biológico. Por eso se intentó conocer la relación entre la adquisición del gateo y la marcha independiente en una población de niños nacidos de alto riesgo en un programa de seguimiento pediátrico. Material y métodos: Estudio observacional, retrospectivo y descriptivo de una cohorte de niños de alto riesgo que acuden al seguimiento pediátrico, en el cual se revisó el periodo de adquisición del patrón de gateo y la marcha independiente. Resultados: Se integraron cuatro grupos: gateo normal, gateo limítrofe, gateo con retraso y gateo nulo. Se estudió a 558 lactantes; los grupos se integraron con gateo normal, 238 niños; gateo limítrofe, 96 lactantes; retraso en la adquisición del gateo, 207 niños; y gateo nulo, 17 niños. Por género, las niñas gatean mejor, con peso y edad gestacional mayores y predominio en los gateadores. La escala de Bayley señala mejores puntuaciones para los gateadores. En los niños con gateo normal, la marcha independiente se adquirió en el periodo normal a diferencia del grupo con retraso en el gateo en el cual la marcha independiente apareció con retraso. Conclusiones: En este estudio se identificó una relación entre la edad de inicio del gateo con la edad de adquisición de la marcha independiente, con mejor evolución en los niños gateadores.

Abstract Background: Crawling represents the first form of autonomous human locomotion. Much has been said about the implications that an adequate acquisition of crawling has on development in order to achieve independent gait in the short term and the child's motor control in the long term. There are few studies related to crawling and its implications in children who were high biologic risk newborns. Therefore, we wanted to know the relation between crawling acquisition and independent gait in a population of children who were high risk at birth in our Pediatric Follow up clinic. Material and Methods: An observational, retrospective, and analytical study of a cohort of children who were high risk at birth, and attended our pediatric follow-up clinic was done. The period between crawling acquisition and independent gait was reviewed. Results: 4 groups were integrated; normal crawling, borderline crawling, delayed crawling and null crawling. 558 infants were studied; the groups were integrated by: normal crawling 238 children; borderline crawling with 96 infants; delayed crawling with 207 children and null crawling with 17 children. By gender distribution, girls achieved better crawling. Weight and higher gestational age predominated in children with normal crawling. Crawlers had the best scores in the Bayley Scale. In children with normal crawling, independent gait was acquired within the normal period unlike the group with delay in crawling where independent gait was behind. Conclusions: In this study, we found a relation between the age of onset of crawling with the age of acquisition of the independent gait, with better skill in children who crawled.

Association between intelligence quotient scores and extremely low birth weight in school-age children.

BACKGROUND: Extremely low birth weight (ELBW) has been associated with poor cognitive development in children. We performed this research to establish the association between ELBW and the influence of biological and socioeconomic factors in the intelligence quotient (IQ) score in school-age children. METHODS: This study comprised 184 children with mean and standard deviation of 6.9 +/- 0.8 years of age. The children were divided into four groups based on their birth weight as follows: group A (n = 25), < or =1000 g; group B (n = 52), 1001-1500 g; group C (n = 66), 1501-2500 g; and group D (n = 41), > or =2501 g. The Stanford-Binet after the Terman-Merril Intelligence Scale was used to determine IQ scores. RESULTS: Mean and standard deviation (SD) of IQ values were 95.3 +/- 11.3 for group A, 103.1 +/- 14.4 for group B, 105.1 +/- 12.3 for group C, and 106.8 +/- 11.7 for group D (p = 0.003). Frequencies of children with scores below normal distribution were the following: 28% in group A; 10% in group B; 15% in group C, and 5% in group D (chi(2) = 0.04). Bronchopulmonary dysplasia and parental education were associated with lower IQ scores (p <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: IQ scores of children born with ELBW were significantly lower when compared to children born with a higher birth weight. Additional studies are important to determine whether these neurodevelopmental delays persist into adulthood, and whether there are additional factors associated with catch-up and recovery.

Neurodesarrollo en infantes con antecedente de hipotiroidismo congénito / Neurodevelopment in infants with congenital hypothyroidism antecedents

Introducción: Los estudios de seguimiento de infantes con hipotiroidismo congénito con tratamiento temprano, muestran que no existen diferencias con respecto al coeficiente intelectual que se encuentra en la población general. Material y métodos: Estudio de cohorte retrospectivo. Veinticuatro hipotiroideos fueron detectados a través del Programa de Tamiz Neonatal y comparados con un grupo testigo. Los recién nacidos fueron valorados entre los seis meses y los siete años de edad mediante el índice de desarrollo (ID) de Bayley, el coeficiente intelectuales (Cl) de Terman Merril y la prueba Hiskey Nebraska para detectar infantes con hipoacusia. Resultados: Dieciocho infantes hipotiroideos mostraron Cl o ID normal o alto. Uno con ID de Bayley porabajo del promedio, dos con Cl por abajo del promedio y uno con hipoacusia y capacidad de aprendizaje baja. No se encontraron diferencias con respecto al grupo control. El uso de ototóxicos, prematurez e hiperbilirrubinemia, fueron las causas que explicaron los coeficientes bajos entre los hipotiroideos y el grupo control. Conclusiones: El Cl y el ID en el grupo de hipotiroidismo tratado tempranamente no difirió con los resultados del grupo testigo.

Introduction: Follow-up studies of hypothyroid infants who received early treatment evidence the presence of the same IQ vs. the general population. Material and methods: Retrospective cohort study. Twenty-four hypothyroid infants detected in neonatal screening were compared to a control group. The newborns were assessed from six months to seven years based on Bayley's infant development scales (ID), the Terman-Merril IQ (Cl) and the learning aptitude of the heard of hearing with the Hiskey-Nebraska test (CA). Results: Twenty hypothyroid infants showed a normal or high Cl or ID. One of the infants with a ID result below the mean, two with an Cl below the mean, one hearing impaired infant with low learning aptitude. No differences were found vs. the control group. The use of ototoxic medications, prematurity and hyperbilirubinemia explain the low coefficients between the hypothyroid individuals and the control. Conclusions: The Cl and the ID results in the hypothyroid group who received early treatment showed no difference vs. the control group.

Diferencias en el crecimiento y neurodesarrollo en el lactante menor deficiente de hierro no anémico

Introducción. Objetivo: evaluar el desarrollo neuroconductual en lactantes de 6-8 meses de edad, no anémicos con deficiencia de Fe (DeFe) en relación con la velocidad de crecimiento. Material y métodos. Se evaluaron a lactantes de 6-8 meses de edad, estratificados en grupo 1 ó DeFe (ferritina sérica -FS- ≤ 20 mg/L) y grupos 2 ó lactantes con reserva normal de Fe, comparándose la velocidad de crecimiento y el puntaje de las áreas motora (IDP) y mental (IDM) de la Escala de Bayley (EB). Resultados. Se estudiaron a 51 lactantes, con 22 y 29 casos, respectivamente. En el IDP, hubo mayor proporción de casos con valores anormales en el grupo 1 (0.41 vs 0.07). En el IDM, hubo diferencias en la puntuación global (86 vs 99 puntos) y en la proporción de lactantes con valores bajos (0.54 vs 0.07). El grupo 1 mostró mayor riesgo de presentar puntuaciones bajas en la EB (razón de momios (RM) 13.5). Adicionalmente, en los lactantes con DeFe severa (FS < 12 µg/L), presentan valores más bajos aún en IDP e IDM, con mayor riesgo de presentar puntuaciones bajas en la EB (RM 83.5), asociada con mayor velocidad de crecimiento en peso. Conclusiones. La deficiencia de Fe en lactantes no anémicos se asocia a menor puntuación de la EB, especialmente del área mental. El crecimiento corporal acelerado es una variable indepediente en el aumento del consumo de Fe.

Introduction. The aim of this work was to evaluate the growth velocity and neuroconductal development of non-anemic iron deficient infants. Material and methods. Infants aged 6 to 8 months were stratified in 2 groups: in group 1 infants (n =22) with serum ferritin (SF) < 20 ug/L were included in group 2 infants (n =29) with normal iron store (SF > 20 µg/L) were studied. Growth velocity, motor area (PDI) and mental area (MDI) using the Bayley Scale (BS) were evaluated. Results. The proportion of cases with abnormal PDI score was greater in group 1 (0.41 vs 0.07); the global MDI score was 86 vs 99, and the proportion of abnormal values were also greater in group 1 (0.54 vs 0.07) group 1 had a greater risk to exhibit a lower BS score (OR 13.5). In addition, infants with SF < 12 µg/L presented lower values of PDI and MDI scores (OR =13.5) and a higher risk for low, BS score (OR =83.5) was associated with greater growth velocity in weight and weight gain with respect to birth. Conclusions. Iron deficiency, even in non-anemic infants, may be associated to a significant score decrease in neurodevelopment scales, particularly in the mental area. The accelerated body growth observed is and independent variable that increases iron consumption in infants.