Parent-child interaction after home-visiting intervention for children born extremely preterm-A randomised clinical trial.

Aim: To determine whether a strength-based home-visiting program enhances parent-child interaction during the first year at home for children born extremely preterm (gestational age < 28).

Methods: A randomised controlled trial of 130 infants born extremely preterm 2018-2021 in Stockholm, allocated to either the Stockholm preterm interaction-based intervention (SPIBI) (n = 66) or an extended follow-up program (n = 64). The intervention group received ten home visits during the first year by a trained interventionist following SPIBI guidelines: an interaction-based intervention supporting sensitive parental responses to infants' signals.

A Cluster Randomized Trial of Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) With Swedish Preschool Children.

The preschool edition of Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies (PATHS) is a school-based, teacher implemented universal intervention developed in the United States designed to promote social emotional competence (SEC) in children as a foundation for improved mental health. PATHS is delivered as a curriculum and it is based on theories and research regarding SEC, brain development, and optimal school environments. A majority of children in Sweden attend preschool, which is government-subsidized and follows a national curriculum focusing on both academic and social emotional learning.

Parents' Experiences of the First Year at Home with an Infant Born Extremely Preterm with and without Post-Discharge Intervention: Ambivalence, Loneliness, and Relationship Impact.

With increasing survival rates of children born extremely preterm (EPT), before gestational week 28, the post-discharge life of these families has gained significant research interest. Quantitative studies of parental experiences post-discharge have previously reported elevated levels depressive symptoms, posttraumatic stress-disorder and anxiety among the parents. The current investigation aims to qualitatively explore the situation for parents of children born EPT in Sweden during the first year at home.

Stockholm preterm interaction-based intervention (SPIBI) - study protocol for an RCT of a 12-month parallel-group post-discharge program for extremely preterm infants and their parents.

Background: Improved neonatal care has resulted in increased survival rates among infants born after only 22 gestational weeks, but extremely preterm children still have an increased risk of neurodevelopmental delays, learning disabilities and reduced cognitive capacity, particularly executive function deficits. Parent-child interaction and parental mental health are associated with infant development, regardless of preterm birth. There is a need for further early interventions directed towards extremely preterm (EPT) children as well as their parents.

A longitudinal model of executive function development from birth through adolescence in children born very or extremely preterm.

Executive function deficits are often reported as a specific weakness in preterm children. Yet, executive function development is still not fully understood. In a prospective longitudinal study, 115 preterm born children, ≤31 weeks of gestation, were recruited at birth and subject to neuropsychological assessments at ages 5.

Correlation between white matter microstructure and executive functions suggests early developmental influence on long fibre tracts in preterm born adolescents.

Main Objectives: Executive functions are frequently a weakness in children born preterm. We examined associations of executive functions and general cognitive abilities with brain structure in preterm born adolescents who were born with appropriate weight for gestational age and who have no radiological signs of preterm brain injury on neuroimaging.

Methods: The Stockholm Neonatal Project (SNP) is a longitudinal, population-based study of children born preterm (<36 weeks of gestation) with very low birth weight (<1501g) between 1988-1993.

Programs for Prevention of Externalizing Problems in Children: Limited Evidence for Effect Beyond 6 Months Post Intervention.

Background: Preventing externalizing problems in children is a major societal concern, and a great number of intervention programs have been developed to this aim. To evaluate their preventive effects, well-controlled trials including follow-up assessments are necessary.

Methods: This is a systematic review of the effect of prevention programs targeting externalizing problems in children.

Cognitive outcome varies in adolescents born preterm, depending on gestational age, intrauterine growth and neonatal complications.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate long-term cognitive outcome in a cohort of 18-year-olds born preterm and previously assessed at the age of 5.5.

Methods: We tested 134 adolescents born preterm with a very low birthweight of <1500 g and 94 term-born controls with a comprehensive cognitive battery at 18 years of age.

Individual cognitive patterns and developmental trajectories after preterm birth.

Cognitive outcome after preterm birth is heterogeneous, and group level analyses may disguise individual variability in development. Using a person-oriented approach, this study investigated individual cognitive patterns and developmental trajectories from preschool age to late adolescence. As part of a prospective longitudinal study, 118 adolescents born preterm, with a birth weight < 1,500 g, participated in neuropsychological assessments at age 5½ years and at 18 years.

Variability in quality of life 13 years after traumatic brain injury in childhood.

With the aim of describing variability in the long-term outcome of quality of life after neurosurgically treated pediatric traumatic brain injury, mostly self-reports of 21 individuals with mild or moderate/severe injury were gathered using Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory in telephone interviews 13 years aftyer injury. A majority of the participants reported brain injury-related problems. The median outcome on Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory was mild to moderate limitations.

Individual profiles of predictors and their relations to 10 years outcome after childhood traumatic brain injury.

Background: Outcome after childhood traumatic brain injury (CTBI) is heterogeneous, with several predictors influencing long-term outcome.

Method: This exploratory study used person-oriented cluster analysis to investigate individual profiles of medical, psychological and social predictors and their relation to longitudinal development in a sample of 127 participants with mild, moderate and severe CTBI. Outcome of cognitive, adaptive and academic function was measured at 30 months and 10 years post-injury.

Cognitive outcome in adolescents and young adults after repeat courses of antenatal corticosteroids.

Objective: To investigate whether repeat courses of antenatal corticosteroids have long-term effects on cognitive and psychological functioning.

Study Design: In a prospective cohort study, 58 adolescents and young adults (36 males) who had been exposed to 2-9 weekly courses of betamethasone in utero were assessed with neuropsychological tests and behavior self-reports. Unexposed subjects (n = 44, 25 males) matched for age, sex, and gestational age at birth served as a comparison group.

Cognitive recovery and development after traumatic brain injury in childhood: a person-oriented, longitudinal study.

Influence of childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) on cognitive recovery and subsequent development is poorly understood. In this longitudinal study we used cluster analysis to explore acute stage individual profiles of injury age and cognition in 118 children with traumatic brain injury. Repeated measures of cognitive function were conducted at 30 months, indicating recovery, and 10 years post-injury, indicating development.

Individual neuropsychological profiles at age 5½ years in children born preterm in relation to medical risk factors.

Follow-up studies of preterm children have reported a range of cognitive deficits, particularly in executive functions, visuospatial abilities, and learning. However, few researchers have adopted a person-oriented approach, exploring individual neuropsychological profiles. The aim of this study was to identify typical neuropsychological profiles among preterm children and control children, respectively.

Antenatal corticosteroids for preterm birth: dose-dependent reduction in birthweight, length and head circumference.

Aim: This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of repeated courses of antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) on foetal growth.

Methods: We studied 94 infants exposed to 2-9 courses of ACS. Mean gestational age (GA) at first exposure was 29 and at birth 34 weeks.

Visual-motor and executive functions in children born preterm: the Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test revisited.

Visual-motor development and executive functions were investigated with the Bender Test at age 5½ years in 175 children born preterm and 125 full-term controls, within the longitudinal Stockholm Neonatal Project. Assessment also included WPPSI-R and NEPSY neuropsychological battery for ages 4-7 (Korkman, 1990). Bender protocols were scored according to Brannigan & Decker (2003), Koppitz (1963) and a complementary neuropsychological scoring system (ABC), aimed at executive functions and developed for this study.

Long-term cognitive outcome after neurosurgically treated childhood traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To explore the cognitive long-term outcome of two cohorts of patients neurosurgically treated for childhood traumatic brain injury (CTBI), either in 1987-1991 according to an older concept or 1997-2001 with a stronger emphasis on volume targeted interventions.

Research Design And Methods: Participants in the two cohorts were subject to an extensive neuropsychological assessment, 13.2 and 6.

Structural correlates of preterm birth in the adolescent brain.

Objective: The Stockholm Neonatal Project involves a prospective, cross-sectional, population-based, cohort monitored for 12 to 17 years after birth; it was started with the aim of investigating the long-term structural correlates of preterm birth and comparing findings with reports on similar cohorts.

Methods: High-resolution anatomic and diffusion tensor imaging data measuring diffusion in 30 directions were collected by using a 1.5-T MRI scanner.

Developmental risks and protective factors for influencing cognitive outcome at 5 1/2 years of age in very-low-birthweight children.

In a population-based follow-up study (the Stockholm Neonatal Project), 182 children with a birthweight of 1500 g or less (very-low birthweight: VLBW) and a control group of 125 children born healthy at term were examined with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-R) and a neuropsychological test battery (Nepsy) at 5 1/2 years of age. The WPPSI-R results of the VLBW children fell well within the normal range: WPPSI-R full-scale IQ 95.7, verbal subscale IQ 99.