Impact of Extreme Prematurity or Extreme Low Birthweight on Young Adult Health and Well-being

Project Details

We are assessing physical, socio-emotional and mental health of extremely preterm (EP, <28 weeks’ gestation) or extremely low birthweight (ELBW, <1000 g) young adults born in the era after surfactant was introduced into clinical practice.

The participants comprise the Victorian Infant Collaborative Study 1991-92 (VICS 91-92) cohort, a unique geographic cohort of all (n=297) EP/ELBW infants survivors born in the state of Victoria in 1991-92, and 262 contemporaneously recruited matched NBW controls. A wealth of perinatal information, and data from longitudinal follow up at ages 2, 5, 8 and 18 years are already available.

VICS research is one of Australia’s flagship research areas since the 1980s, with over 50 publications on the long-term outcomes of very tiny or preterm infants in Victoria since that time .

Researchers

Collaborators

Staff from the Mercy Hospital for Women, Monash Medical Centre, Melbourne Health, and the Royal Children’s Hospital.

Funding

NHMRC Project Grant 2016-2018

Research Publications

Selected publications from the cohort aged 18 years

Kelly CE, Cheong JLY, Molloy C, Anderson PJ, Lee KJ, Connelly A, Doyle LW, Thompson DK, for the Victorian Infant Collaborative Study Group.  Neural correlates of impaired vision in adolescents born extremely preterm and/or extremely low birthweight. PLoS One 2014; 9: e93188

Burnett A, Scratch S, Lee K, Cheong J, Searle K, Hutchinson E, De Luca C, Davey M-A, Roberts G, Doyle LW, Anderson PJ. Executive Function in Adolescents Born <1000g or <28 weeks: A Prospective Cohort Study. Pediatrics 2015; 135:e826-834

Doyle LW, Clucas L, Roberts G, Davis N, Duff J, Callanan C, McDonald M, Anderson PJ, Cheong JLY.  The cost of long term follow-up of high-risk infants for research studies. J Paediatr Child Health 2015; 51:1012-1016

Centra JC, Roberts G, Opie G, Cheong J, Doyle LW, on behalf of the Victorian Infant Collaborative Study Group. Masked hypertension in extremely preterm adolescents.  J Paediatr Child Health 2015; 51:1060-1065

Doyle LW, Cheong JLY, Burnett A, Roberts G, Lee KJ, Anderson PJ, for the Victorian Infant Collaborative Study Group. Biological and social influences on outcomes of extreme-preterm/low-birth-weight adolescents. Pediatrics 2015; 136:e1513-e1520

Molloy CS, Di Battista AM, Anderson VA, Burnett A, Lee KJ, Roberts G, Cheong JLY, Anderson PJ, Doyle LW, for the Victorian Infant Collaborative Study Group.  The contribution of visual processing to academic achievement in adolescents born extremely preterm or extremely low birth weight.  Child Neuropsych 2015; 1-19

Molloy C, Anderson PJ, Anderson VA, Doyle LW, for the Victorian Infant Collaborative Study Group.  The long-term outcome of extremely preterm (<28 weeks' gestational age) infants with and without severe retinopathy of prematurity. J Neuropsych (in press Feb 25 2015)

Kelly C, Chan L, Burnett AC, Lee KJ, Connelly A, Anderson PJ, Doyle LW, Cheong JLY, Thompson DK, on behalf of the Victorian Infant Collaborative Study Group.  Brain microstructural and structural alterations associated with cerebral palsy and motor impairments in extremely preterm/extremely low birthweight adolescents.  Dev Med Child Neurol 2015; 57: 1168-1175

Cheong JLY, Bainbridge A, Anderson PJ, Lee KJ, Burnett AC, Thompson DK, Roberts G, Wood SJ, Doyle LW, Robertson NJ. Altered posterior cingulate brain metabolites and cognitive dysfunction in preterm adolescents.  Pediatr Res (in press Oct 20 2015)

Kowalski RR, Beare R, Doyle LW, Smolich JJ, Cheung MMH.  Elevated blood pressure with reduced left ventricular and aortic dimensions in adolescents born extremely preterm. J Pediatr (in press Jan 6, 2016).

Research Group

Victorian Infant Collaborative Study Group



Faculty Research Themes

Child Health

School Research Themes

Child Health in Medicine



Key Contact

For further information about this research, please contact the research group leader.

Department / Centre

Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health

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