Sociodemographic, biological, and developmental characteristics of preschool children born full-term and preterm

Abstract

In Chile, preterm birth is the main cause of infant mortality and morbidity. However, there is little information on the particular characteristics of preterm-born preschool children. Objective: To describe the sociodemographic, biological, and developmental characteristics of Chilean preschool children born full-term and preterm. Subjects and Method: A secondary analysis of the databases of the 2010 Longitudinal Survey of Early Childhood (ELPI) was conducted. Children between 2 and 4 years of age with information on gestational age at birth were selected. Late-term infants were excluded. The sample included 8,571 children, of whom 9.78% were preterm newborns. Variables related to sociodemographic characteristics, biological risk factors, and psychomotor development were considered. A descriptive and association analysis (Chi-square) was performed to establish whether the differences between the compared groups were significant. Results: No differences were observed regarding the proportion of sex, geographic area of residence, and health prognosis. Most premature infants reside in urban areas and they have higher biological risk factors. In addition, they have lower average scores than those born at term in all development areas. Conclusions: The information presented raises the need to analyze the interaction of prematurity with social risk in the development of preterm infants of different gestational ages.