Patterns of functioning and predictive factors in children born moderately preterm or at term

Aim The aim of this study was to identify subgroups of children born moderately preterm (MPT) and term with distinctive levels and patterns of functioning, and the perinatal and demographic factors that predict subgroup membership. Method A total of 378 children aged 7 years, 248 MPT (138 males, 110 females; gestational age 3236wks) and a comparison group of 130 children born at term (58 males, 72 females; gestational age 3841wks), were selected from a community-based cohort study. Latent class analyses were performed on measures of intelligence, verbal memory, attention, executive functioning, and visuomotor and motor skills. ?2 automatic interaction detection analyses were performed to detect associations between the subgroups and predictors. Results Four subgroups differing in levels of performance were identified, with parental education being the only statistically significant determinant of subgroup assignment (p