Motor skills at 23 years of age in young adults born preterm with very low birth weight

Abstract Background Motor skills have previously not been reported in young adults born with very low birth weight (VLBW), although they are commonly reported in children and adolescents. Aim To compare fine and gross motor skills in VLBW young adults with matched term-born controls, and to study longitudinal changes in the VLBW group. Study design A geographically based follow-up study of a VLBW group and a control group. Subjects Thirty-six VLBW (birth weight ≤ 1500 g) young adults, including four participants with cerebral palsy (CP), and 37 matched controls (birth weight ≥ 10th centile) were examined at 14 and 23 years of age. Outcome measures Fine and gross motor skills were assessed using Grooved Pegboard test (GP), Trail Making Test-5 (TMT-5), Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (Movement ABC-2) and High-level Mobility Assessment Tool (HiMAT). Results VLBW young adults were slower than controls on GP (p = 0.026) and TMT-5 (p  Conclusion VLBW young adults had overall poorer fine and gross motor skills compared with controls. Reduced speed seemed to be an underlying problem. Longitudinal findings indicate that VLBW children have not outgrown their motor problems when entering adulthood.