Palanivel Siddharth, Menon Vaishnavi B, Mohammed Salih Idrees, Rajmohankumar Vijayalakshmi, Sudhir Velani Khushi, Kathiresan Sasikala, Campbell Colleen, Upadhyay Eshita, Ram Sankar, Pendem Harini, Lysak Yuliya
Pediatrics, GVN Riverside Multispeciality Hospital, Tiruchirappalli, IND.
General Medicine, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, IND.
Cureus. 2025 Jul 7;17(7):e87423. doi: 10.7759/cureus.87423. eCollection 2025 Jul.
Preterm infants survive into adulthood. However, this survival often comes with increased health and social challenges during adolescence and adulthood, including medical disabilities, learning difficulties, and behavioral and psychological issues. Understanding the long-term outcomes of preterm birth is crucial for developing prevention and treatment strategies, as well as setting future research priorities. Research in this area can be complex due to the need for long follow-up periods and changes in the classification of diseases and outcomes over time, which make it challenging to establish meaningful associations. This narrative literature review aims to consolidate information about the long-term neurodevelopmental, psychiatric, and behavioral outcomes and management of individuals born preterm. Key risk factors affecting preterm survivors include comorbid conditions and socioeconomic status. Prematurity disrupts cortical growth and myelination, making the brain vulnerable to vascular injury. These issues can lead to white matter injury, interventricular hemorrhage, and cerebellar hemorrhage, resulting in motor, language, and learning deficits. Cognitive impairments and difficulties with executive functions can adversely affect academic performance in preterm children. Research consistently shows that early intervention and long-term follow-up can improve neurological impairment. Because the brains of preterm infants are still developing, they require continuous care to support their social and educational development. Early physiotherapy, targeted speech therapy, and individualized education programs tailored to assess school readiness can significantly enhance motor skills and mitigate the neurological impacts of prematurity. Additionally, prenatal interventions and preventive strategies can help reduce the risk of long-term neurodevelopmental impairments. More studies with extended follow-up into adulthood are needed to better understand the social, behavioral, and psychological impacts of prematurity.
早产儿能够存活至成年期。然而，这种存活往往伴随着青少年期和成年期更多的健康和社会挑战，包括身体残疾、学习困难以及行为和心理问题。了解早产的长期后果对于制定预防和治疗策略以及确定未来的研究重点至关重要。由于需要较长的随访期以及疾病分类和结局随时间的变化，该领域的研究可能会很复杂，这使得建立有意义的关联具有挑战性。本叙述性文献综述旨在整合有关早产个体长期神经发育、精神和行为结局及管理的信息。影响早产幸存者的关键风险因素包括合并症和社会经济地位。早产会干扰皮质生长和髓鞘形成，使大脑易受血管损伤。这些问题可导致白质损伤、脑室内出血和小脑出血，进而导致运动、语言和学习缺陷。认知障碍和执行功能困难会对早产儿童的学业成绩产生不利影响。研究一致表明，早期干预和长期随访可改善神经损伤。由于早产儿的大脑仍在发育，他们需要持续的护理来支持其社会和教育发展。早期物理治疗、针对性的言语治疗以及为评估入学准备情况而量身定制的个性化教育计划可显著提高运动技能并减轻早产对神经的影响。此外，产前干预和预防策略有助于降低长期神经发育障碍的风险。需要更多对成年期进行长期随访的研究，以更好地了解早产对社会、行为和心理的影响。
