Birth weight, respiratory distress syndrome, and cognitive development. A four-year follow-up of preterm infants

W. L. Ludman, J. M. Halperin, J. M. Driscoll Jr, Y. T. Driscoll and I. Belmont

This study examined the relationship of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and birth weight to cognitive development in 30 white, middle-class, low-birth-weight, preterm infants. Cognitive ability was assessed at 12, 36, and 48 months of age. No significant difference was found at any age between children who had and did not have RDS during the neonatal period. Children with birth weights of 1500 g or less were found to have lower scores than those with birth weights greater than 1500 g in the first year of life. However, the difference diminished with increasing age.