OBJECTIVE: To determine in a systematic review, whether interventions for infant development that involve parents, improve neurodevelopment at 12 months corrected age or older. STUDY DESIGN: Randomized trials were identified where an infant intervention was aimed to improve development and involved parents of preterms; and long-term neurodevelopment using standardized tests at 12 months (or longer) was reported. RESULT: Identified studies (n = 25) used a variety of interventions including parent education, infant stimulation, home visits or individualized developmental care. Meta-analysis at 12 months (n = 2,198 infants) found significantly higher mental (n = 2,198) and physical (n = 1,319) performance scores favoring the intervention group. At 24 months, the mental (n = 1,490) performance scores were improved, but physical (n = 1,025) performance scores were not statistically significant. The improvement in neurodevelopmental outcome was not sustained at 36 months (n = 961) and 5 years (n = 1017). CONCLUSION: Positive clinically meaningful effects (> 5 points) are seen to an age of 36 months, but are no longer present at 5 years.
Reprinted by permission from Journal of Perinatology, Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

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