Inter- and intra-modal matching in very low birth weight and small for gestational age adolescents

Background: Motor problems in low birth weight children may be related to problems in sensorimotor integration processes. Specific tests of inter- and intra-modal matching have not been used in low birth weight populations. Aim: Examine whether low birth weight adolescents have poorer performance in inter- and intra-modal matching than normal birth weight adolescents. Study design: A population based follow up study of very low birth weight and small for gestational age children at 14 years of age. Subjects: Fifty-three very low birth weight adolescents (VLBW: birth weight ≤ 1500 g), 59 term small for gestational age (SGA: birth weight < 10th centile) and 82 adolescents with birth weight ≥ 10th centile at term (reference group). Outcome measures: Inter- and intra-modal matching was assessed by a manual matching task and results were presented for the preferred and the non-preferred hand in the visual (inter-modal) and proprioceptive (intra-modal) condition. Results: VLBW adolescents performed poorer in inter- and intra-modal matching compared with the reference group. However, the results were mainly due to a higher number of adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) and a low estimated intelligence quotient (IQ_est) in the VLBW group. SGA adolescents showed poorer performance with their non-preferred hand compared with their preferred hand in both inter- and intra-modal matching, whereas adolescents in the reference group and VLBW adolescents with normal IQ_est and without CP performed equally well with both hands. Conclusion: VLBW adolescents with normal IQ_est and without CP do not have major problems in inter- and intra-modal matching. The poorer performance with the non-preferred hand in the SGA group may suggest a specific effect of intrauterine growth retardation.