Development and behavior of non-handicapped preterm children from a developing country

Background: There are many studies, mainly conducted in industrialized countries, concerning developmental and behavioral outcomes of preterm children. However, little is known about the outcomes of preterm children from developing countries. Method: Forty-three non-handicapped Turkish preterm children, 15 with very low birth weight and 28 with low birth weight at preschool age, as well as 36 term controls were compared on rates of developmental, emotional and behavioral impairments. Data were collected by review of hospital records and application of various questionnaires and inventories to both children and their parents. Results: Preterm children had significant delays in general development and significant rise in somatic complaints with unknown medical etiologies. The very low birth weight group also had significant delay in language and cognitive development. Parents of the preterm children displayed significantly higher rates of democratic attitudes. Developmental outcome was significantly associated with birth weight and authoritarian parental attitudes where behavioral outcome was significantly influenced by birth weight. Conclusion: Presence of developmental delay is in accordance with existing data on the outcomes of preterm children from industrialized countries. An isolated increase in somatic complaints is an uncommon finding which might also be related to cultural factors.