How children born extremely preterm rate their own quality of life at 12 years of age? (Poster)

An interesting CEPAS poster from the Swedish EXPRESS cohort explored self-reported quality of life among 300 children born at 22–27 weeks of gestation, compared with 208 term-born controls.

Using the Kidscreen-52 questionnaire, the researchers found that overall health-related quality of life was similar between the groups. However, children born extremely preterm reported lower scores for physical well-being, peer relationships/social support, and bullying. Also, children diagnosed with autism or ADHD were more likely to report difficulties across several domains.

What do you think about these findings?

I interpret results are encouraging! Despite a challenging start in life, most children born extremely preterm seem to perceive their quality of life similarly to their term-born peers. The findings also highlight the importance of listening to the children’s own perspectives rather than relying solely on parental reports.

But I have one reservatiom, as always. The responses in surveys depends on who is actually responding. And this is not much disclosed in the poster (but I am sure, in the full paper to come)