Influence of pre‐eclampsia on 2‐year neurodevelopmental outcome of very‐low‐birth‐weight infants.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of maternal pre‐eclampsia on neurodevelopmental outcome in very‐low‐birth‐weight (VLBW) infants at 6, 12, and 24 months of corrected age. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of singleton VLBW infants between 2011 and 2018. The participants were divided into three groups: (1) mothers without pre‐eclampsia, (2) pre‐eclampsia without severe features, and (3) pre‐eclampsia with severe features. The Bayley Scales of Infant Development third edition (BSID‐III) was used to assess the neurodevelopment of participants. A BSID‐III score < 85 was defined as neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI). Results: Overall, 482 VLBW infants born to 482 mothers were enrolled, of whom 327 mothers did not have pre‐eclampsia and 155 mothers had pre‐eclampsia (58 without and 97 with severe features). The infants born to mothers with pre‐eclampsia with severe features had the lowest BSID‐III scores at 6, 12, and 24 months. After adjustments, maternal pre‐eclampsia with severe features was significantly associated with cognitive NDI in their infants (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.14) and language NDI (aOR 3.37) at 2 years of corrected age. Conclusions: VLBW fetuses born to mothers with pre‐eclampsia with severe features have poorer 2‐year neurodevelopmental outcome, which mainly manifests in the cognitive and language domains. Synopsis: Very‐low‐birth‐weight infants born to mothers with pre‐eclampsia with severe features have poorer 2‐year neurodevelopmental outcomes, mainly in the cognitive and language domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]