Long term cognitive development in children with prolonged crying

Background: Long term studies of cognitive development and colic have not differentiated between typical colic and prolonged crying. Objective: To evaluate whether colic and excessive crying that persists beyond 3 months is associated with adverse cognitive development. Design: Prospective cohort st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archives of disease in childhood 2004-11, Vol.89 (11), p.989-992
Main Authors: Rao, M R, Brenner, R A, Schisterman, E F, Vik, T, Mills, J L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Factors
Babies
Biological and medical sciences
Breastfeeding & lactation
Child Behavior Disorders - etiology
Child, Preschool
Children & youth
Cognition Disorders - etiology
Cognition in children
Cognitive development
Colic
Colic - psychology
Complications and side effects
Control Groups
Crying
Crying - psychology
Crying in infants
Development
Developmental Disabilities - etiology
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Gestational age
Humans
Infant
Infant crying
Infant development
Infantile colic
Infants
Intelligence
Male
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Mothers
Obstetrics
Original
Parent educational background
Patient outcomes
PDMS
Peabody developmental motor scales
performance intelligence quotient
personality inventory for children
PIC
PIQ
Pregnancy
Prenatal Care
Preventive medicine
prolonged crying
Prospective Studies
Psychomotor Performance
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Risk Factors
SGA
small for gestational age
Sociodemographics
Socioeconomic factors
verbal intelligence quotient
VIQ
Young Children
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Summary:Background: Long term studies of cognitive development and colic have not differentiated between typical colic and prolonged crying. Objective: To evaluate whether colic and excessive crying that persists beyond 3 months is associated with adverse cognitive development. Design: Prospective cohort study. A sample of 561 women was enrolled in the second trimester of pregnancy. Colic and prolonged crying were based on crying behaviour assessed at 6 and 13 weeks. Children’s intelligence, motor abilities, and behaviour were measured at 5 years (n = 327). Known risk factors for cognitive impairment were ascertained prenatally, after birth, at 6 and 13 weeks, at 6, 9, and 13 months, and at 5 years of age. Results: Children with prolonged crying (but not those with colic only) had an adjusted mean IQ that was 9 points lower than the control group. Their performance and verbal IQ scores were 9.2 and 6.7 points lower than the control group, respectively. The prolonged crying group also had significantly poorer fine motor abilities compared with the control group. Colic had no effect on cognitive development. Conclusions: Excessive, uncontrolled crying that persists beyond 3 months of age in infants without other signs of neurological damage may be a marker for cognitive deficits during childhood. Such infants need to be examined and followed up more intensively.
ISSN:0003-9888
1468-2044
DOI:10.1136/adc.2003.039198