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Childhood Motor Function, Health Related Quality of Life and Social Functioning among Emerging Adults Born at Term or Extremely Low Birth Weight

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Abstract

Poor motor coordination is associated with reduced academic performance, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and social functioning in general population samples of children. Even though childhood motor problems are often chronic, little is known about how they affect educational, health, and social domains beyond adolescence. Further, the status of these associations in individuals known to be at high risk for poor motor coordination (e.g., those born preterm) is not known. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between childhood motor coordination and socioeconomic outcomes, HRQoL, and social functioning at 22–26 years of age in a cohort of individuals born at normal birth weight (NBW, > 2500 g; N = 83) or extremely low birth weight (ELBW, < 1000 g; N = 70). Childhood motor coordination was retrospectively self-reported by participants, and measures of socioeconomic status, family functioning, social support, and HRQoL were self-reported at age 22–26. Poorer childhood motor coordination was found to be associated with reduced educational attainment at 22–26 in both birth weight groups. However, statistically significant interactions were found between childhood motor coordination and birth weight status on social support and domains of HRQoL at age 22–26, such that as motor coordination worsened, participants born at NBW received less social support and had poorer HRQoL than ELBW survivors. Childhood motor coordination appears to be more strongly linked with reduced social support and reduced HRQoL in those born at term compared to ELBW survivors. These findings highlight the importance of screening, treating and supporting all children to reduce the long-term adverse effects of poor motor coordination in early life.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by Canadian Institutes of Health Research Grants CIHR:TMH-103145 (to L.A.S) and CIHR:MOP42536 (to S.S.) and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Grant NICHD:1-R01HD40219 (to S.S.). The authors thank the many participants and their families for their continued participation in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, PC-130, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada

    Kristie L. Poole

  2. Life Sciences Program, Faculty of Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Umna A. Islam

  3. Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Louis A. Schmidt

  4. School of Rehabilitation Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Cheryl Missiuna

  5. Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Saroj Saigal

  6. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Michael H. Boyle & Ryan J. Van Lieshout

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  1. Kristie L. Poole
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  2. Umna A. Islam
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  4. Cheryl Missiuna
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  5. Saroj Saigal
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  7. Ryan J. Van Lieshout
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Correspondence to Kristie L. Poole.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study

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The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.

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Poole, K.L., Islam, U.A., Schmidt, L.A. et al. Childhood Motor Function, Health Related Quality of Life and Social Functioning among Emerging Adults Born at Term or Extremely Low Birth Weight. J Dev Phys Disabil 29, 369–383 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-016-9530-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-016-9530-0

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