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Abstract #4104

Early life predictors of brain development at term-equivalent age in infants born across the gestational ages.

Deanne K Thompson1,2,3, Claire E Kelly1, Jian Chen1,4, Richard Beare1,4, Marc L Seal1,3, Peter J Anderson1,3, Lex W Doyle1,5,6, Alicia J Spittle1,5,7, and Jeanie LY Cheong1,5,6

1Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia, 2Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia, 3Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, 4Department of Medicine, Monash Medical Centre, Monash Univeristy, Melbourne, Australia, 5Royal Women’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, 6Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, 7Department of Physiotherapy, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

Many early life factors contribute to how well a preterm child will develop, and these affect the brain differently based on how early the infant is born. The current study found that earlier gestational age is related to smaller brain volumes and less mature white matter at term-equivalent age. Correlated with these brain measures were lower birthweight SD score, multiple birth or high social risk. We show that infants born moderate and late preterm have altered brain development, not just those born very preterm, and there is a differential effect of early life predictors based on gestational age.

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