INTELLECTUAL ASSESSMENT OF CHILDREN WITH ASYMPTOMATIC CONGENITAL CYTOMEGALOVIRUS-INFECTION

The findings of previous studies examining the neurocognitive developm ent of children with clinically inapparent (asymptomatic) cytomegalovi rus (CMV) infection have demonstrated mixed results. These studies hav e generally depended on small sample sizes (i.e., <50). We examined th e intellectual development of children with asymptomatic congenital CM V infection using a sample larger than previous studies. Two hundred a nd four cases aged 5 to 200 months were compared with 177 uninfected s iblings ranging in age from 6 to 203 months. Parents were administered the Developmental Profile, a measure of developmental achievement. Ch ildren who were older than 30 months were administered an objective in telligence measure. Results of this study showed that children with as ymptomatic congenital CMV infection do not demonstrate intellectual im pairment, and that they perform similarly to uninfected siblings. Pare nts tended to overestimate their child's level of functioning regardle ss of whether the child had CMV infection.