Study on the developmental characteristics of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants and twins

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K09968
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Pediatrics
• Research Institution: Kobe University
• Principal Investigator: Takada Satoshi 神戸大学, 保健学研究科, 教授 (10216658)
• Research Collaborator: NAKAI Yasushi ; TAKIGUCHI Tetsuya ; YAMAOKA Noriko ; KONDO Chie ; MAEBAYASHI Hidetaka ; KUROKAWA Mari
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 極低出生体重児 / 双胎児 / 行動・発達評価 / 睡眠行動 / 音声解析 / 乳幼児期 / 共同注意

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purposes of this study were to clarify the developmental characteristics of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants in comparison with normal birth weight (NBW) infants. A semi-structured observation scale was developed to assess infants’ joint attention, and was shown to be reliable. The voices of 10 NBW and 10 VLBW infants were recorded at an interval of 3 months. The recorded signals were analyzed by formant analysis. The developmental change was clearly observed in the typically developing children. In the infants who failed the behavioral test at 24months, however, the delay of expressive language development was detected by formant analysis. Sleep behaviors of five twin pairs and their mothers were longitudinally recorded by actigraph. The proportion of time with both infants sleeping in the same period increased depending on their age. Maternal sleep duration was positively correlated with the period of both infants sleeping.

Free Research Field

小児神経学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

乳幼児期の発達を正しく評価し、早期から適切な介入を行うことは極めて重要である。出生体重が1,500g未満で生まれた児（VLBW児）では、正体重児（NBW児）に比べて、知的障害や自閉スペクトラム症の発症頻度が高いことが知られている。我々はVLBW児の修正1～2歳時におけるフォルマント音声解析の結果から、将来の予後を予測できる可能性を示した。また、双胎児においては当初は全くバラバラであった睡眠リズムが修正7－8カ月ごろに同期し、それと共に母親の睡眠行動が改善していくことを定量的に示した。双胎児の母親に多い睡眠不足からくるイライラ感を解消させ、虐待防止へとつながる成果と考えている。