The Predictive Effect of Individual and Environmental Factors on Motor Performance of Low Birth Weight Infants

Premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are exposed to environmental risks that may cause developmental problems i. The present study aimed to investigate the predictive effect of individual and environmental factors on the motor performance of low birth weight preterm infants.

This cross-sectional study was performed in the neonatal clinic of Shahid Akbarabadi Hospital in Tehran City, Iran. A group of 90 low birth weight infants were enrolled in the study by non-probabilistic method and according to the inclusion criteria. Test of infant motor performance (TIMP), sensory profile2 (infant section), affordance in the home environment for motor development (AHEMD), and a demographic questionnaire were used to evaluate motor performance, sensory status, home environment, and other factors (birth weight, corrected age, parent’s education, etc.), respectively.

TIMP elicited score was positively correlated with the infant’s age (r=0.390, P<0.001) and infant’s weight (r=0.260, P=0.011), and negatively correlated with duration of hospitalization in NICU (r=-0.210, P=0.047). A significant negative correlation was observed between TIMP elicited score and total infant sensory profile2 score (r=0.391, P<0.001) and a positive correlation was observed between TIMP elicited score and total affordance in the home environment for motor development score (r=0.207 P=0.049). 

The present study’s results showed that elicited movement has a significant relationship with infant sensory status and home environment and demographic variables (infant’s age, gender, infant’s weight, type of delivery, NICU duration, father and mother’s age, number of family children) and the sensory status has a more predictive effect on infant motor performance than the environmental questionnaire.