Impact of Differing Language Background Exposures on Bayley-III Language Assessment in a National Cohort of Children Born Less than 29 Weeks’ Gestation
Natalie Hoi-Man Chan,
Anne Synnes,
Ruth E. Grunau,
Lindsay Colby,
Julie Petrie,
Tracy Elfring,
Lindsay Richter,
Leonora Hendson,
Rudaina Banihani,
Thuy Mai Luu,
on behalf of the Canadian Neonatal Follow-Up Network Investigators
Affiliations
Natalie Hoi-Man Chan
Neonatal Follow-Up Program, British Columbia Women’s Hospital and Health Centre, Vancouver, BC V6H 3V4, Canada
Anne Synnes
Neonatal Follow-Up Program, British Columbia Women’s Hospital and Health Centre, Vancouver, BC V6H 3V4, Canada
Ruth E. Grunau
Neonatal Follow-Up Program, British Columbia Women’s Hospital and Health Centre, Vancouver, BC V6H 3V4, Canada
Lindsay Colby
Neonatal Follow-Up Program, British Columbia Women’s Hospital and Health Centre, Vancouver, BC V6H 3V4, Canada
Julie Petrie
Neonatal Follow-Up Program, British Columbia Women’s Hospital and Health Centre, Vancouver, BC V6H 3V4, Canada
Tracy Elfring
Neonatal Follow-Up Program, British Columbia Women’s Hospital and Health Centre, Vancouver, BC V6H 3V4, Canada
Lindsay Richter
Department of Paediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6H 3V4, Canada
Leonora Hendson
Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Rudaina Banihani
DAN Women and Babies Program, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada
Thuy Mai Luu
Department of Pediatrics, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, Montreal, QC H3T 1C5, Canada
on behalf of the Canadian Neonatal Follow-Up Network Investigators
Preterm infants are at risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes, especially language delay. Preterm infants < 29 weeks’ gestational age, cared for in Canadian Neonatal Follow-Up Network affiliated hospitals, were assessed between 18 to 21 months corrected age using the Bayley-III. Bayley-III Language Composite Scores were compared using univariate and multivariate analyses for children in three primary language groups: English, French and other. 6146 children were included. The primary language at home was English, French or another language for 3708 children (60%), 1312 children (21%) and 1126 children (18%), respectively, and overall, 44% were exposed to two or more languages at home. Univariate analysis showed that primary language was associated with lower Bayley-III Language scores; however, multivariate analyses demonstrated that neither primary language nor language of administration were significantly associated with lower language scores when adjusted for gestational age, other developmental delays and sociodemographic factors, but multiple language exposure was. Sociodemographic and other factors are more important in determining language development than primary language at home. Further studies are needed to examine the association between exposure to multiple languages and lower Bayley-III language scores in preterm infants.
