Perinatal brain injury, visual motor integration, and poor school performance among low birthweight survivors in central New Jersey.

摘要

Statement of problem. Poor School Performance (PSP) among Low Birth Weight (LBW) survivors has been found to be a prevalent public health problem. The phenomenon can be substantially attributed to the primary pathophysiological etiology, which is Perinatal Brain Injury (PBI). However, at present, the underlying etiological mechanism regarding how PBI leads to PSP remains unaddressed.;Impaired Visual-Motor Integration (VMI) has been observed as one common characteristic for the entire group of LBW survivors, both those with and without major physical disabilities. These preliminary findings indicate that VMI can be viewed as one possible intermediate mechanism accounting for the etiological association of PBI and PSP. By investigating this mechanism, we may better understand the phenomenon of PSP among LBW survivors.;Hence, it is hypothesized that PBI will first impact VMI function of the LBW children, which then directly affects school performance. The specific aim of this project is to explore whether VMI is the underlying mechanism accounting for the etiological association of PBI and PSP among LBW survivors.;Procedure & methods. The research question will be addressed through secondary analysis, including data acquiring, data cleaning and data processing. The research data will be retrieved from a completed prospective cohort study---the Neonatal Brain Hemorrhage (NBH) project. The primary purpose of this project was to identify the causes and consequences of Germinal Matrix/Intraventricular Hemorrhage (GM/IVH) among LBW and or/preterm infants born in three counties in the state of New Jersey.;Results. VMI is shown to significantly impact the school performance of LBW survivors, specifically reading and mathematics performance, but not knowledge performance; however, PBI was not found to be the significant predictor for impaired VMI. As a result, the VMI mediating model was not supported by the NBH data. The research hypothesis of VMI as an intermediate mechanism explaining the etiological association of PBI and PSP was rejected.;Conclusion. VMI can not interpret the etiological association between PBI and PSP. Investigation about alternative intermediate mechanisms or mediating models of PSP should be explored.