Prediction of movement difficulties at 5 years from parent report at 2 years in children born extremely preterm

AimTo assess the predictive validity of parent-reported gross motor impairment (GMI) at age 2 years to detect significant movement difficulties at age 5 years in children born extremely preterm. MethodData were from 556 children (270 males, 286 females) born at less than 28 weeks' gestation in 2011 to 2012 in 10 European countries. Parent report of moderate/severe GMI was defined as walking unsteadily or unable to walk unassisted at 2 years corrected age. Examiners assessed significant movement difficulties (score <= 5th centile on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition) and diagnoses of cerebral palsy (CP) were collected by parent report at 5 years chronological age. ResultsAt 2 years, 66 (11.9%) children had moderate/severe GMI. At 5 years, 212 (38.1%) had significant movement difficulties. Parent reports of GMI at age 2 years accurately classified CP at age 5 years in 91.0% to 93.2% of children. Classification of moderate/severe GMI at age 2 years had high specificity (96.2%; 95% confidence interval 93.6-98.0) and positive predictive value (80.3%; 68.7-89.1) for significant movement difficulties at age 5 years. However, 74.5% of children with significant movement difficulties at 5 years were not identified with moderate/severe GMI at age 2 years, resulting in low sensitivity (25.1%; 19.4-31.5). InterpretationThis questionnaire may be used to identify children born extremely preterm who at age 2 years have a diagnosis of CP or movement difficulties that are likely to have a significant impact on their functional outcomes at age 5 years.