Very low birth weight and growth to age 8 years. II: Head dimensions and intelligence.

The occipitofrontal circumference was measured in all available children in the following cohorts at ages 2, 5, and 8 years: group 1, consisting of 79 children with birth weight between 500 and 999 g; group 2, with 111 children with birth weight between 1000 and 1499 g; and group 3 with 56 children with birth weight greater than 2500 g; all were white with no signs of moderate or severe cerebral palsy. National Center for Health Statistics reference values indicated substantially more children with an occipitofrontal circumference lower than the 10th percentile, particularly at age 2 years, compared with Nellhaus reference data. Occipitofrontal circumference was the head measurement best correlated with the Full Scale IQ on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised. Dolichocephaly, often seen in very-low-birth-weight children was unrelated to IQ, and correction of occipitofrontal circumference for dolichocephaly was rarely of clinical importance.