EVALUATION OF ATTENTION BEFORE AND AFTER 2 YEARS OF GROWTH-HORMONE TREATMENT IN INTRAUTERINE GROWTH-RETARDED CHILDREN

The objective of this study was to assess attention in children with s hort stature following intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), at base line and after 2 years of growth hormone (hGH) treatment. At baseline, all of the children had a birth height and a current height below the third centile. The attention measures (Sonneville Visual Attention Ta sks; SVAT) of the IUGR group were compared with those of a comparison sample. In the baseline analyses, 48 children with IUGR and 119 compar ison children were included; the 2-year follow-up analyses involved 41 children with IUGR and 68 comparison children. At baseline, children with IUGR showed deficits in divided, focused, and sustained attention . They were less accurate, exhibited more variability in reaction time , and performed mon slowly and more impulsively than did the children in the comparison sample. After 2 years of hGH treatment, the IUGR gro up exhibited deficits in divided and sustained attention. They were st ill less accurate and showed more variability in reaction time and mor e impulsiveness. Current head circumference, the type of delivery, and global intelligence of children with IUGR were significantly correlat ed with attention measures. We hypothesize that short stature followin g IUGR and attention deficits are related, and that hGH treatment seem s to have some beneficial effect on attentional capacity.