Influence of the level of maternal education on the long-term neurodevelopmental outcome of Saudi infants with birth weight of 1000-1500 grams at the age of 21-24 months

Background: Advancements in perinatal-neonatal care in the last decades has led to improved survival rates of very-low birth weight (VLBW) infants. An association between the level of maternal education and neurodevelopmental outcome has been demonstrated in many European studies. This study evaluates the influence of maternal education level and socio-demographic status on the long-term development of Saudi VLBW infants with birth weight of 1000-1500 grams at a corrected gestational age of 21-24 months. Method: This retrospective cohort study examined prospectively collected data from the period of 2005 to 2016 from the Neonatal Follow-up Program (NFP) at King Khalid University Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Results: A total of 122 VLBW infants with a mean gestational age of 29.57 weeks and mean birth weight 1265 grams were enrolled. There was no statistically significant association between the level of maternal education and neurodevelopmental screening outcome at the age of 21-24 months according to the Bayley Infant Neurodevelopmental Screener (BINS) (p=0.149). Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) was highly associated with cerebral palsy (p=0.001) and an abnormal BINS score (p=0.010). Conclusion: There was no significant influence of the level of maternal education on the neurodevelopmental screening outcome of VLBW infants at the corrected age of 21-24 months. BPD was the strongest predictor of adverse neurodevelopmental outcome. Keywords: Bayley Infant Neurodevelopmental Screener (BINS), Neurodevelopmental Outcome, Maternal educational level, Neonatal follow-up program (NFP), Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) infant.