Institute for Child Study, University of
Maryland, College Park, 20742-1131, USA. jdr@umdd.umd.edu
SOURCE:
Child Dev 1997 Apr;68(2):173-86
NLM CIT. ID:
97323604
ABSTRACT:
To investigate heart rate and respiratory sinus
arrhythmia (RSA) as markers of developmental outcome, infant ECG and 3 year outcome were
assessed in 41 very low birth weight (<1,500 g) infants. Measures of mean heart rate and RSA, and the maturational shifts in their values from 33 to 35 weeks gestational age, were recorded. RSA measures predicted 3 year outcome beyond the effects of birth weight, medical risk, and socioeconomic status. Higher RSA was associated with better social skills, whereas greater RSA maturation was associated with better mental processing and gross motor skills. Lower heart rate was associated with better behavior regulation and social skills, whereas greater maturational decreases were associated with better gross motor skills. Dividing the sample into groups of infants with birth weights less than 1,000 g and those with birth weights over 1,000 g, RSA maturation emerged a strong predictor of mental processing, knowledge base, and gross motor skills in the former. A measure of joint maturation of RSA and heart rate was associated with better behavior regulation at 3 years, as measured by Child Behavior Checklist and Parenting Stress Index scores, for this group. The findings directly respond to the need for physiological variables in the prediction of outcome in high-risk infants.
Child, Preschool
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Gestational Age
Human
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Intelligence/PHYSIOLOGY
Male
Motor Skills/PHYSIOLOGY
Neuropsychological Tests
Predictive Value of Tests
Psychomotor Disorders/DIAGNOSIS/PHYSIOPATHOLOGY
Respiration/PHYSIOLOGY
Risk Factors
Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
PUBLICATION TYPES:
JOURNAL ARTICLE
LANGUAGE:
Eng
On Sabbatical!
When my office
lease expired at the end of 2004, I decided to turn it into a
"sabbatical" from my private practice. Many years ago, in my
grandfather's 89th year of life, he told me, "John, it is important
to smell the roses while you can still smell them." His life
gave living a very good reputation. It is also true that the
pursuit of that philosophy required my grandfather to to re-open his
assay office/ore market in Wickenburg, Arizona as a 75-year-old because
he had run a little short of retirement money. Thus, if blessed with his
luck and health, I'll be back.. --jjh
