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Description
Preterm birth (< 37 weeks gestational age) is a global public health concern, affecting more than 13 million (10%) infants worldwide annually. Although studies suggest that preterm infants are more likely to develop speech or language disorders compared to infants born full-term, research on language development of preterm infants in early childhood has yielded inconsistent results. This meta-analysis synthesizes existing literature on the early development of receptive and expressive language in preterm compared to full-term infants in the first 18.9 months. Studies must have used either the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID), version 3 or 4, or the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI), all versions. We searched electronic bibliographic databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCO, for studies published until December 2023. Our search yielded 9464 records. A total of 32 studies were eligible, and study outcomes were transformed into Hedge’s g. Robust variance estimation was conducted for each outcome. Results indicate that children born preterm score lower in receptive (g = -0.40, CI 95 = [-0.60, -0.19], p < 001, I2 = 71.80) and expressive (g = -0.44, CI 95 = [-0.63, -0.25], p < 001, I2 = 65.76) language. For receptive language differences, birth weight, gestational age, and corrected age were significant moderators, suggesting that differences are greater for preterm children with lower birth weight, higher corrected age, and lower gestational age. We will end by discussing our results in light of previous research and uncovering gaps for future research.
