Wang Xiaoyan, Carroll Xianming, Wang Hong, Zhang Ping, Selvaraj Jonathan Nimal, Leeper-Woodford Sandra
Department of Child Health, Hubei Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Wuhan, China.
Department of Public Health, Mercer University College of Health Professions, Atlanta, GA, United States.
Front Pediatr. 2020 Aug 21;8:485. doi: 10.3389/fped.2020.00485. eCollection 2020.
Brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) provide an objective analysis of central nervous system function and development in infants. This study proposed to examine the relationship between infant BAEP values at age 6 months, and their neurodevelopment at age 2 years assessed by the mental development indices (MDI), a form of Bayley Scales of Infant Development. We hypothesized that in infants with BAEP values outside normal range, there may be neurodevelopmental delays, as shown by their MDI scores. An exploratory investigation was conducted using preterm (28-36 weeks gestation; 95 cases) and term infants (≥37 weeks gestation; 100 cases) who were born with specific perinatal conditions. BAEP values were recorded in these infants from 1 to 8 months of age, and compared with MDI scores in these infants at age 2 years. A multivariate linear regressions model was performed to test the associations between all variables and MDI scores. Stratified linear regression was used to test the interactions between gestational age and BAEP values with MDI scores. Significance was determined at a < 0.05. We found that BAEP values were inversely associated with MDI scores in premature infants (β = -1.89; 95% confidence interval = -3.42 to -0.36), and that the effect of gestational age and BAEP values on the MDI scores is decreased by 1.89 points due to the interaction between these two variables. In premature babies, the lower the BAEP value below the mean, the greater the decrease in MDI score at age 2 years. Asphyxia and lower socioeconomic status in the family were also covariates associated with lower MDI scores at age 2 years. The data provided evidence that BAEP values outside the normal range in premature infants at age 6 months may predict developmental delays in cognitive and motor skills, as shown by MDI scores. We propose that BAEP assessment may be utilized as a potential indicator for neurodevelopment, and suggest that early intellectual and public health interventions should be encouraged to enrich neurodevelopment in premature babies with BAEP values outside the normal range.
脑干听觉诱发电位（BAEP）为婴儿中枢神经系统功能和发育提供了客观分析。本研究旨在探讨6个月大婴儿的BAEP值与2岁时通过心理发展指数（MDI，贝利婴儿发展量表的一种形式）评估的神经发育之间的关系。我们假设，BAEP值超出正常范围的婴儿可能存在神经发育延迟，这可通过其MDI评分体现。对患有特定围产期疾病的早产（妊娠28 - 36周；95例）和足月婴儿（≥37周妊娠；100例）进行了探索性调查。记录这些婴儿1至8个月大时的BAEP值，并与他们2岁时的MDI评分进行比较。进行多元线性回归模型以检验所有变量与MDI评分之间的关联。采用分层线性回归来检验胎龄和BAEP值与MDI评分之间的相互作用。显著性设定为<0.05。我们发现，早产婴儿的BAEP值与MDI评分呈负相关（β = -1.89；95%置信区间 = -3.42至 -0.36），并且由于这两个变量之间的相互作用，胎龄和BAEP值对MDI评分的影响降低了1.89分。在早产婴儿中，BAEP值低于平均值越多，2岁时MDI评分下降幅度越大。窒息和家庭社会经济地位较低也是与2岁时较低MDI评分相关的协变量。数据表明，6个月大的早产婴儿BAEP值超出正常范围可能预示着认知和运动技能的发育延迟，这可通过MDI评分体现。我们建议，BAEP评估可作为神经发育的潜在指标，并建议应鼓励早期智力和公共卫生干预，以促进BAEP值超出正常范围的早产婴儿的神经发育。
