Abstract
The mental achievement of 32 infants manifesting IM at birth without evidence of chromosome abnormalities or intrauterine infection have been compared to 13 well nourished (WN) infants. All infants came from a middle to a high socioeconomic background. Selection of patients was made in 1963 so the Colorado Intrauterine Growth Grid was not available. Retrospective plotting of infant weights showed that 41% of the IM infants fell above the 10th percentile. Knobloch-Pasamanick modification of the Gesell test demonstrated statistically lower scores in fine motor ability in the IM infant at 9 months of age. By 3 years of age all subtest scores were statistically lower in the IM infant except gross motor skills. The WPPSI, WISC, & WISC-R phychometric tests were used at older ages. The following findings were observed in the IM infant compared to the WN infant. Full scale IQ <90 19%/0; full scale IQ >120 7%/38%; educatable mental retardate 19%/0; learning disabilities 34%/15%; non-compensated learning disability 18%/0; specific learning disability 28%/15%; special education 19%/0; seizures beyond the newborn period 13%/8%; language problems 16%/0; significant visual problems 3%/0; medical Rx for hyperactivity 9%/0. Evidence of IM in infants at birth may serve as an important clinical marker for potential learning disability in the infant at an older age.
- Work supported by the MacDonald & the Doris Hebbard Knapp Fund
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Hill, R., Verniaud, W., Rettig, G. et al. 48 A 14 STUDY OF THE MENTAL DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS MANIFESTING INTRAUTERINE MALNUTRITION (IM) AT BIRTH. Pediatr Res 12 (Suppl 4), 371 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00053
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197804001-00053