Active head lifting from supine in infancy in the general population: Red flag or not?

• Published in: Early human development 2021-12, Vol.163, p.105466-105466, Article 105466
• Main Authors: van Iersel, Patricia A.M., Hadders-Algra, Mijna
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Active head lifting from supine; General population; Infant Motor Profile; Standardized Infant NeuroDevelopmental Assessment; Variation
• ISSN: 0378-3782; 1872-6232
• DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2021.105466

Previously it had been had reported that active head lifting from supine (AHLS) in high-risk infants was associated with lower cognitive scores in the second year. AHLS was generally accompanied by stereotyped leg movements. To examine in a standardized way whether AHLS with or without stereotyped leg movements in the general population is associated with prenatal, perinatal, neonatal and socio-economic risk factors or with lower scores on concurrent infant tests. Cross-sectional study 1700 infants aged 2–18 months representative of the Dutch population. Infant Motor Profile (IMP) and Standardized Infant NeuroDevelopmental Assessment (SINDA). Assessments were video-recorded and included at the youngest ages 3min of behaviour in supine. AHLS and the presence of stereotyped leg movements were recorded. Standardized information on early risk factors was available. AHLS occurred at 4–9 months (prevalence per months: 1–14%; highest prevalence at 6 months). It was not associated with early risk factors or scores on infant tests. When AHLS was accompanied by stereotyped leg movements it was associated with a higher prevalence of an IMP-variation score