Effects of intraventricular hemorrhage and other medical and environmental risks on multiple outcomes at age three years.

This study examined the interrelated effects of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), neonatal medical condition, and environmental quality on development. At age 3 years, the functioning of 105 preterms was assessed in a variety of cognitive areas. Analyses revealed that IVH was related to gross motor, receptive, and expressive communication ability. However, it was only the subjects who had severe IVH who performed significantly worse than the comparison subjects. Subjects who had hemorrhages confined to a germinal matrix or a small intraventricular bleed did not differ from the comparison subjects who performed at expected age levels. When medical condition, socioeconomic status, and family risk, a composite variable including proximal environmental measures, were examined together with IVH as predictors, IVH remained related to motor and receptive communication ability after controlling for the other variables. The number of other medical complications and the environmental factors had more wide-ranging effects. Each predictor was related to a unique set of outcomes.