Grovmotorik hos extremt och mycket prematurfödda barn vid 12 års ålder : En kvantitativ studie

Sammanfattning

Background: Preterm-born children are at increased risk of delayed motor development, with lower gestational age associated with a higher risk of adverse outcomes. Differences in motor skills have also been observed between boys and girls, and male sex is considered a risk factor for neurological impairments. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate whether motor differences exist between preterm-born and full-term children at 12 years of age, and whether differences within the preterm-born group are related to sex and degree of prematurity. Methods: The study was conducted as a quantitative cross-sectional study including 63 participants, of whom 42 were born preterm. Motor performance was assessed using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition (BOT-2). Results: Significant motor differences were found between preterm-born and full-term children in the domain Strength & Agility, with preterm-born children performing worse. No significant differences were found between the groups in Body Coordination. Within the preterm group, no significant differences were identified with respect to sex or degree of prematurity. Conclusion: Preterm-born children at 12 years of age perform worse than full-term children in strength and agility, but not in body coordination. No differences within the preterm group were found for sex or degree ofprematurity, however these findings should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size. The results support the development of targeted physiotherapeutic interventions for school-aged preterm-born children to improve motor function and participation in everyday activities.