Abstract 1389 Poster Session III, Monday, 5/3 (poster 19)

Objective: The objective of this longitudinal study is to determine the long-term neurocognitive effects of in utero cocaine exposure in children. Methods: Study participants were 476 full-term, inner-city, African-American infants, enrolled prospectively at birth and categorized into cocaine-exposed (COC) and comparison (COMP) groups. Cocaine exposure was defined by a combination of maternal report and/or positive urine or meconium toxicology assays. Of the 223 infants in the COMP group, 147 were determined to be drug-free by self-report/toxicology; the remainder were exposed to varying combinations of nicotine, alcohol, and marijuana with no cocaine exposure. The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) was administered at approximately 5 years, 6 months of age. The groups did not differ in average test age. Results: A total of 408 children were seen (86% of the total sample). Of these, six children were untestable due to extremely severe cognitive or behavioral deficits (COC=5 and POLY=1). These numbers were too small for statistical analysis but suggest a disproportionate number in the COC group. Maternal education, an important correlate of child cognitive functioning, was not significantly different among the groups. A general linear model analysis revealed no significant group effect on Full Scale, Verbal, or Performance Scale Scores (n=402) after adjusting for the effects of prenatal tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana exposure. WPPSI subtest scores were also not significantly different between groups. Similarly, the groups did not differ in the proportion of children with scores falling more than 2 standard deviations below the normative mean. Both groups exhibited mean intellectual functioning greater than 1 SD below the standard WPPSI test mean (mean=100, SD=15). WPPSI Full Scale, Performance, and Verbal Scale Scores adjusted means and their standard errors are reported below. Conclusion: These data suggest that prenatal cocaine exposure has little effect on global intellectual functioning as measured by the WPPSI. (Table)

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