Motor abilities in adults born with very low birthweight: A study of two birth cohorts from Finland and Norway.

AIM: To compare overall, fine, and gross motor abilities in adults born preterm with very low birthweight (VLBW) and a control group of term-born individuals. METHOD: In a joint assessment of the Helsinki Study of Very Low Birth Weight Adults and NTNU Low Birth Weight in a Lifetime Perspective study, data were collected with harmonized methods for 118 adults born preterm (gestational age < 37 weeks) with VLBW (≤1500 g) and 147 control individuals. The primary outcome was overall motor abilities; secondary outcomes were fine and gross motor abilities. RESULTS: The Bruininks Motor Ability Test Short Form total score was 4.1 (95% confidence interval 2.7-6.0) points lower in adults born with VLBW than in the control group, adjusted for cohort, age, and sex. This was partly mediated by their shorter height. They also had lower scores for other fine and gross motor tests. Results were similar when participants with neurosensory impairment were excluded, and when we adjusted for additional covariates. INTERPRETATION: Adults born preterm with VLBW had poorer overall, fine, and gross motor abilities than adults born at term. This indicates that substantial difficulties in motor function among individuals born preterm with VLBW persist into mid-adulthood.

Visual function in adults born preterm with very low birth weight-A two-country birth cohort study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to investigate visual function and vision-related general health in adults that were born preterm with very low birth weight (VLBW: birth weight < 1500 g) in their 30s-40s. METHODS: We recruited 137 adults born preterm with VLBW and 158 term-born controls aged 31-43 years from two birth cohorts: the Helsinki Study of Very Low Birth Weight Adults (Finland) and the NTNU Low Birth Weight in a Lifetime Perspective study (Norway). We used neonatal data and measured refraction, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) using the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) chart, contrast sensitivity, visual fields, intraocular pressure (IOP), self-reported vision-targeted health status with the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25. RESULTS: VLBW adults had a lower BCVA ETDRS score than controls: mean (SD) better eye 86.7 (13.4) versus 90.2 (4.4), p = 0.02; mean (SD) worse eye 82.3 (14.9) versus 87.6 (4.6), p = 0.003. VLBW adults also had lower contrast sensitivity thresholds in several spatial frequencies and scored lower than controls in eight out of the 12 subscales of self-reported vision-targeted health status. Refraction, visual fields and IOP were similar between groups. Two VLBW participants were blind. None had been treated for retinopathy of prematurity. CONCLUSION: We suggest that lower visual function and vision-related health represent life-long consequences of prematurity and VLBW in the studied 31- to 43-year-old cohort. The underlying mechanisms remain to be determined.

Body composition in adults born preterm with very low birth weight.

BACKGROUND: Studies on body composition in preterm very low birth weight (VLBW < 1500 g) survivors are inconsistent and trajectories later in life unknown. We assessed body composition and its change from young to mid-adulthood in VLBW adults. METHODS: We studied 137 VLBW adults and 158 term-born controls from two birth cohorts in Finland and Norway at mean age 36 years. Body composition was assessed by 8-polar bioelectrical impedance. We compared results with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry measurements at 24 years. RESULTS: In mid-adulthood, VLBW women and men were shorter than controls. Fat percentage (mean difference in women 1.1%; 95% CI, -1.5% to 3.5%, men 0.8%; -2.0% to 3.6%) and BMI were similar. VLBW women had 2.9 (0.9 to 4.8) kg and VLBW men 5.3 (2.7 to 8.1) kg lower lean body mass than controls, mostly attributable to shorter height. Between young and mid-adulthood, both groups gained fat and lean body mass (p for interaction VLBW x age>0.3). CONCLUSION: Compared with term-born controls, VLBW adults had similar body fat percentage but lower lean body mass, largely explained by their shorter height. This could contribute to lower insulin sensitivity and muscular fitness previously found in VLBW survivors and predispose to functional limitations with increasing age. IMPACT: In mid-adulthood, individuals born preterm with very low birth weight had similar body fat percentage but lower lean body mass than those born at term. This was largely explained by their shorter height. First study to report longitudinal assessments of body size and composition from young to mid-adulthood in very low birth weight adults. Lower lean body mass in very low birth weight adults could contribute to lower insulin sensitivity and muscular fitness and lead to earlier functional limitations with increasing age.

Body composition and physical fitness in adults born small for gestational age at term: a prospective cohort study.

There is lack of research on body composition and physical fitness in individuals born small for gestational age (SGA) at term entering mid-adulthood. We aimed to investigate these outcomes in adults born SGA at term. This population-based cohort study included 46 adults born SGA with birth weight < 10th percentile at term (gestational age ≥ 37 weeks) (22 women, 24 men) and 61 adults born at term with birth weight ≥ 10th percentile (35 women, 26 men) at 32 years. Body composition was examined anthropometrically and by 8-polar bioelectrical impedance analysis (Seca® mBCA 515). Fitness was measured by maximal isometric grip strength by a Jamar hand dynamometer, 40-s modified push-up test and 4-min submaximal step test. Participants born SGA were shorter than controls, but other anthropometric measures did not differ between the groups. Men born SGA had 4.8 kg lower grip strength in both dominant (95% CI 0.6 to 9.0) and non-dominant (95% CI 0.4 to 9.2) hand compared with controls. Grip strength differences were partly mediated by height. In conclusion, body composition and physical fitness were similar in adults born SGA and non-SGA at term. Our finding of reduced grip strength in men born SGA may warrant further investigation.