General movements and neurodevelopmental outcomes at 2 years of age in infants born very preterm.
Ninib Yakoub, Marieken Asprion, Stephanie Brezina and 2 others
PMID 41495806WHAT IT FOUND
In very preterm infants, early general movement quality was linked to development only before accounting for other risks.
Once socioeconomic status and severe neonatal morbidities were included, the movement score added no independent predictive value.
Key findings
01Higher general movement scores were associated with better cognitive and motor outcomes in univariate analysis, but these associations weakened and became non-significant after adjusting for covariates.
02Lower socioeconomic status and a higher number of severe neonatal morbidities were the strongest independent predictors of poorer development across all domains.
03The general movement score did not provide additional predictive value for neurodevelopmental outcomes beyond socioeconomic status and neonatal morbidity burden.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study used a retrospective convenience sample, which may limit generalizability. The cohort had a relatively low-risk profile and favorable outcomes, potentially reducing the ability to detect associations in more severe cases. The prevalence of abnormal general movement scores was low, limiting statistical power for subscale analyses. The timing of the general movement assessment (mean 13.2 weeks corrected age) may have been less predictive than assessments done slightly later. Supportive therapies received by infants were not fully controlled for in the main analysis, though sensitivity analyses suggested they did not significantly alter the results.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. No other conflicts of interest were reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the lack of independent predictive value of the MOS-R score as evidence that general movement assessment is useless. The authors note it remains a valuable screening tool for early functional motor problems, particularly in remote settings or when other risk factors are not easily assessed.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →