Stability of neurodevelopmental trajectories in moderately late and early preterm children born 15 years apart

Background Neurodevelopmental trajectories of preterm children may have changed due to changes in care and in society. We aimed to compare neurodevelopmental trajectories in early and moderately late preterm children, measured using the Developmental (D)-score, in two cohorts born 15 years apart. Methods We included early preterm and moderately late preterm children from two Dutch cohorts (LOLLIPOP, 2002–2003 and ePREM, 2016–2017). ePREM counterparts were matched to LOLLIPOP participants by gestational age and sex. D-score trajectories were summarized by a multilevel model with random intercepts and random slopes, and multigroup analyses were used to test if the intercepts and slopes differed across cohorts. Results We included 1686 preterm children (1071 moderately late preterm, 615 early preterm) from LOLLIPOP, and matched these with 1686 ePREM counterparts. The neurodevelopmental trajectories of the two cohorts were mostly similar. For early preterm children, we found no statistically significant differences. For moderately late preterm children, both the intercept (43.0 vs. 42.3, p