Jump to main content
US EPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Search
Search
Main menu
Environmental Topics
Laws & Regulations
About EPA
Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)
Contact Us
Print
Feedback
Export to File
Search:
This record has one attached file:
Add More Files
Attach File(s):
Display Name for File*:
Save
Citation
Tags
HERO ID
7189513
Reference Type
Journal Article
Title
Rates of early intervention referral and significant developmental delay, by birthweight and gestational age
Author(s)
Curry, AE; Pfeiffer, MR; Slopen, ME; Mcveigh, KH; ,
Year
2012
Is Peer Reviewed?
1
Journal
Maternal and Child Health Journal
ISSN:
1092-7875
EISSN:
1573-6628
Volume
16
Issue
5
Page Numbers
989-996
Language
English
PMID
21618074
DOI
10.1007/s10995-011-0820-y
URL
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84865676836&doi=10.1007%2fs10995-011-0820-y&partnerID=40&md5=2245184e8b2570aab9c7466cda2545b9
Exit
Abstract
Though correlated, birthweight (BW) and gestational age (GA) have independent effects on cognitive and neurological outcomes. Jurisdictions vary in their inclusion of these two characteristics in their list of established conditions for automatic eligibility for Early Intervention (EI) services, which may lead them to miss important high-risk groups. We evaluated the relationship between BW-GA combinations and both EI referral rates and risk of EI-diagnosed significant developmental delay in a population of New York City (NYC) births. We linked birth certificates of children born in NYC to resident mothers during 1999-2001 and surviving the first 28 days of life (n = 339,522) to EI administrative data. We calculated EI referral rates for various BW-GA categories, and used a logistic model to directly estimate the predicted risk of delay. EI referral rates of over 50% were observed in children born <1,250 g and those born <30 weeks and 1,250-1,499 g. Additionally, more than one in two children born either less than 1,250 g or <30 weeks and 1,250-1,499 g were predicted to be diagnosed with a developmental delay, compared with almost one-tenth among those born >2,500 g and 39+ weeks. A BW threshold of <1,250 g would identify children with the highest risk of delay; GA as an additional criterion would prevent overlooking high-risk children born <30 weeks but at higher birthweights. Physicians should monitor children with high-risk birth characteristics and refer them, if appropriate, for formal evaluation. EI programs may use these findings to guide determination of automatic eligibility criteria.
Home
Learn about HERO
Using HERO
Search HERO
Projects in HERO
Risk Assessment
Transparency & Integrity