Neurodevelopment in Preterm Children at 12 Months: Aligning Clinical Observations and Parental Insight

Highlights: What are the main findings? The BSID-III and DP-3 identify similar developmental patterns in preterm infants, with motor development highlighted as an area of greater vulnerability. The DP-3 tends to classify more children as typically developing, especially in the cognitive and social-emotional domains, compared to the BSID-III. What is the implication of the main finding? The DP-3 may be appropriate for screening at-risk populations. Direct assessments like the BSID-III are more adequate for identifying developmental delays, and differences between the tools highlight the need to understand each assessment’s capacities and limitations when interpreting developmental outcomes. Background: Preterm birth is associated with increased risk for neurodevelopmental disorders. Although standardized tools such as the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development—Third Edition (BSID-III) are widely used for early developmental assessment, parent-report measures may offer complementary and cost-effective alternatives. The Developmental Profile 3 (DP-3) is a parent questionnaire with potential utility in preterm follow-up programs. Objective: To compare developmental outcomes of preterm infants at 12 months corrected age assessed using the BSID-III and the DP-3 questionnaires and to evaluate the agreement between these tools across cognitive, language-communication, motor, and social-emotional domains. Methods: Fifty-five preterm infants (mean GA = 30.3 weeks; mean BW = 1388 g) were assessed using both the BSID-III (administered by professionals) and the DP-3 (completed by parents) at 12 months corrected age. Mean scores were computed for each domain, and infants were assigned to the corresponding descriptive categories. The agreement between BSID-III and DP-3 scores was statistically evaluated. Results: Both instruments identified similar developmental trends, with motor development emerging as the most vulnerable domain for preterm infants. DP-3 scores were higher than BSID-III scores in virtually all domains, and absolute intraclass correlation coefficients showed a generally moderate agreement between measurements. The BSID-III identified significantly more infants at risk in the cognitive and social-emotional areas compared to the DP-3. Conclusions: The DP-3 showed fair convergence with the BSID-III, supporting its use as a complementary tool in preterm follow-up. Extending follow-up assessments into later developmental stages will be essential to more accurately determine the predictive validity of the DP-3.