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Biomedical subjects

B A MacArthur

Publications and source records attributed to B A MacArthur.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Prediction of Bayley and Stanford-Binet scores with a group of very low birthweight children.

AIM: To study the prediction of cognitive development with a group of very low birthweight infants (<1500 g) at 18 months and at 4 years of age. METHODS: Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II Mental Development Indexes (MDI), and Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (S-B) Composite Scores were studied in a population of 334 children with birthweights <1500 g. Independent variables measured were gestational age, birthweight, gender and parental socio-economic status (SES). RESULTS: Longer gestation (28 weeks and over) and higher birthweight (1000-1500 g) proved to be advantageous for cognitive ability at both 18 months and 4 years. Other significant advantages were associated with female and higher SES. High correlations were found between MDI and the S-B Composite Score (r = 0.62), and between birthweight and gestation (r = 0.72). When information available at birth was included in forward stepwise regression analyses to predict the S-B Composite at 4 years, the best predictors were MDI at 18 months and SES. CONCLUSION: With the measures employed and this population, prediction of cognitive development from early childhood to preschool was possible. This may enable reliable identification of those children at risk for delayed cognitive development who require intervention before starting school.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2000

Some influences on cognitive development in a group of very low birthweight infants at four years.

AIM: To report the findings of an audit of 91 < 1,500 grams birthweight children at four years of age and consider the cognitive and behavioural results in the light of gestation, birthweight and socio-economic status. METHOD: Children born in 1993 were assessed using the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Conners' Parent Rating Scales and clinical evaluation. Parent interview provided further information on development, health and behaviour. RESULTS: Significant differences were demonstrated in a number of comparisons. For the Stanford-Binet results, children >28 weeks gestation obtained higher mean scores than those of shorter gestation for Abstract Visual Reasoning (representing cognitive skills such as spatial perception and visual - motor coordination), and Quantitative Reasoning (which includes numerical ability). In the case of birthweight, the mean score for children > or = 1,000 grams was higher on Quantitative Reasoning than that obtained by the lower birthweight group. When socioeconomic status classification was introduced, a number of differences in test scores were apparent, with children whose parents were in the lowest classification consistently performing less well. Quality of language results followed the same pattern. Analysis of the Conners' Scales identified this low socio-economic status group as having more learning problems and higher scores on the Hyperactivity Index than those whose parents were in the highest socioeconomic status group. CONCLUSION: Results for cognitive performance on the Stanford-Binet Scale were within one standard deviation of the mean, for the study population as a group. However, findings suggested that children <1,000 grams birthweight, or <28 weeks gestation, and those <1,500 grams with parents in the lowest socio-economic group, were at particular risk of achieving lower scores prior to school entry. Their pattern of cognitive ability and behaviour could inhibit their adjustment to formal education when complex concepts require problem solving at a more advanced level.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1997

Developmental outcome at 18 months of children less than 1000 grams.

AIMS: Aims of this paper were to carry out an audit of 105 extremely low birth weight infants at 18 months of age, identifying problems, disseminating the resulting information and providing a basis for future work. METHODS: Children born in 1990-2 were classified in categories I to IV according to outcome, and selected perinatal variables were analysed for these groupings. RESULTS: The disability rate (categories I and II) within this cohort was 21% a similar finding to that reported in other literature. For the group with slow motor development and/or tonal abnormalities the percentage was 15. Despite the high risk nature of this group 64% of children were progressing well (category IV) at this age. No significant differences in outcome were found between small for gestational age and appropriate weight for gestational age infants. Significant results were demonstrated in the adverse effects of chronic lung disease and intraventricular haemorrhage on subsequent development. CONCLUSION: The information obtained from this study provides support for the use of this type of audit in Units with extremely low birth weight populations.

Developmental Disabilities↗
PubMed1996

Cognitive development and behaviour in very low birthweight twins at four years.

This study included two groups of 37 children, one of twins and the other singletons at 4 years of age. All subjects has birthweights under 1500 grams and individuals in the groups were matched for birth date, gender and birthweight. Except when parental socio-economic status was taken into account, no significant differences between twins and singletons were observed on any of the results of The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, nor were there any when the twins and singletons were divided into groups with birthweights < 1000 grams and 1000 to 1499 grams. When cognitive scores were analysed in relation to socio-economic status, there were significant differences in the whole population between subjects in the high and low socioeconomic status groups, with higher mean scores for the former. Comparison of the twins and singletons with parents in the lower socio-economic status group did not produce any significant differences but in the case of the upper socio-economic status group the singletons scored significantly better than the twins in Quantitative Reasoning and on the Composite Score. No significant differences were demonstrated in the clinical assessment of speech, language or behaviour. So far as general life considerations and health were concerned only one significant difference was found and this was for the number of siblings born subsequently, with more born in the singleton families. This study did not provide support for the view that singletons and twins differ significantly in the areas considered.

Behavior↗
PubMed1988

Comparison of infants dying from the sudden infant death syndrome with matched live controls.

Development, medical history and social background of 79 sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and 79 age matched controls were compared. SIDS was associated with a high proportion of S.G.A. infants, more hospital admissions and increased reporting of symptoms, particularly irritability, by parents. Social factors did not play a significant role with no evidence of marked social deprivation or lack of caring in either group. When this background data from both groups was compared there was no evidence of reliable predictors of sudden infant death.

Health Status↗
PubMed1987

Sudden infant death syndrome in south east Scotland.

Three hundred and fifty eight infants from south east Scotland who died suddenly were classified into four groups. Categories for these groups ranged from where a definite cause of death had been recorded to where no explanation had been provided and no associated disorder was discovered (SIDS). Our results supported the view that there are few differences in the history of cases certified as SIDS and other cases reported as dying suddenly but with an explanation. Groups that most closely matched the SIDS definition employed were reported to be healthier throughout life and freer from illness in the 48 hours before death. From the findings of this study the 'true' SIDS group did not appear as an 'at risk' population. The study group as a whole was not marked by social deprivation, poor mothering, or less privileged families. The importance of intensive investigation, including postmortem examination was emphasised, as misdiagnosis may give a 'falsely' inflated picture of the incidence of the syndrome and could cause unnecessary anxiety.

Birth Order↗
PubMed1984

A case of agammaglobulinaemia complicated by meningoencephalitis due to Echo virus 27.

A boy with agammaglobulinaemia diagnosed and treated from the age of 3 years 2 months developed encephalitis at 4 years 3 months. The illness showed a remitting but deteriorating course until death aged 6 years 5 months. Echo virus type 27 was isolated from the cerebrospinal fluid during the terminal illness. The virus was not isolated from five earlier cerebrospinal fluid samples nor was virus detected in a temporal lobe biopsy.

Agammaglobulinemia↗
PubMed1982

School progress and cognitive development of 6-year-old children whose mothers were treated antenatally with betamethasone.

The cognitive development of children whose mothers had been included in the first Auckland trials of betamethasone therapy in premature labor were studied. An earlier study of these children used psychometric tests during the fifth year of life. In the present study tests were given during the seventh year of life (the second year of school) to 250 (82.2%) of 304 surviving children. Of the 250 children, 139 were in the group whose mothers had received betamethasone and 111 were in the control group. Further tests of cognitive development were made, together with assessment of the children's progress in school. Again, on the majority of measures there were no significant differences between children whose mothers had received betamethasone and the children in the control group. Calculations of statistical power showed that important differences were unlikely to have been missed.

Anthropometry↗
PubMed1981

Cognitive and psychosocial development of 4-year-old children whose mothers were treated antenatally with betamethasone.

The present study was part of a larger study investigating the long-term development of children of mothers included in a controlled trial of betamethasone therapy in preterm labor, the purpose was to determine whether there are any benefits or hazards of treatment detectable up to the seventh year of life. The first 318 children of mothers included in the trial because of spontaneous premature labor were selected for study. Of 305 survivors, 258 (84.6%) were included in this phase of the study. Detailed tests of psychological development, together with assessments of psychosocial background, were made during the fifth year. Of the 258 children 144 were in the betamethasone group and 114 were control patients. Despite a heavy weighting of the betamethasone group with more prematurely delivered infants and more boys (resulting from improved perinatal survival of these children associated with betamethasone therapy), no significant differences emerged between the groups in measures of outcome. It was concluded that betamethasone therapy, under the conditions of the original trial, was not hazardous to cognitive development as measured in this study.

Betamethasone↗
PubMed1980

Developmental progress after cardiac surgery in infancy using hypothermia and circulatory arrest.

Seventy-two of 76 long-term survivors who had surgical repair of congenital heart lesions at 11 days to 26 months of age using profound hypothermia and circulatory arrest underwent psychometric testing (Stanford-Binet) late postoperatively. The mean IQ of the 72 patients was 92.9 +r16.5 (SD). Stanford-Binet scores bore no relationship to the duration of circulatory arrest or other aspects of surgical technique. Scores were significantly lower in those who had a low birth weight for gestational age, important neurologic problems preoperatively or were in the lower socioeconomic classes. An "ideal" control group of 69 children randomly selected from patients satisfying certain criteria based on birth and neonatal characteristics had a mean IQ of 106.2 +r11.6. Twenty-five patients who had surgical treatment of cogenital heart disease met the criteria for the control group except for their heart lesions. Their mean IQ was 101.4 +r15.0(NS). We could not demonstrate any significant deleterious effect that could be attributed to the surgical methods. Rather, the postoperative IQ scores reflected characteristics related to individual patients.

Cardiac Surgical Procedures↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A study of the sudden infant death syndrome by age.

Data from 201 infants in South East Scotland certified at death as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) were analysed to determine whether the cases in the younger age groups at death (4-19 weeks) differed from those in the older group (19-52 weeks) on a number of background, developmental and medical variables frequently associated with SIDS in research findings. Some of the findings of the study were contrary to much of the research on SIDS in general. While some factors commonly associated with SIDS were found in both groups the 'typical' pattern presented in SIDS in the literature was more strongly associated with the older group. Marked differences between the two age groupings at death raise questions concerning those aspects of causation and aetiology that may go undetected if this distinction is not made during the analysis of SIDS information.

Age Factors↗