WIP 72 - STRONG Families: Stress Trauma and Resilience Of NICU Graduate Families

Publication Number: WIP 72.7668

Morgan L. Quezada-Lopez, UCLA Mattel Childrens Hospital, Culver City, CA, United States; Sai Iyer, University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Samantha Kucaj, UCLA Mattel Childrens Hospital, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Background: Adverse childhood events (ACEs) have been associated with a number of poor physical and mental health outcomes in adults. Less is understood about the intergenerational effect of parental ACEs on children’s health and neurodevelopment. Existing studies exploring this relationship focus on healthy infants in general pediatric clinics and use developmental screening tools such as the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ). NICU graduates are at a higher risk for neurodevelopmental impairment than their peers, but the intergenerational effect of parental ACEs has not been studied in this unique population.

Objective: The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between maternal ACEs and infant/toddler development in a High-Risk Infant Follow-Up (HRIF) clinic. The HRIF clinic sees NICU graduates at high risk for neurodevelopmental impairment from ages 3 months to 3 years and uses the Bayley Scale of Infant and Toddler Development, 4th edition (BSID IV) for standardized developmental assessment.

Design/Methods: This is an ongoing cross-sectional cohort study. Routine maternal ACEs screening has been in place in the HRIF Clinic since March 2024. Data of interest - including maternal ACEs, infant BSID IV scores, infant demographics, enrollment in early intervention services and details of the infant’s NICU hospital course - will be collected from the electronic health record from March 2024 to March 2025. This study was granted IRB exempt status due to its use of de-identified data from routine clinical assessments. The infants will be divided into cohorts of "Low Maternal ACEs", defined as maternal ACEs < 4, and "High Maternal ACEs" defined as maternal ACEs >= 4. Statistical analysis will compare collected data between the two cohorts using Wilcoxon rank-sum test for continuous data and Chi-square test for categorical data. Additional analysis with a focus on limiting confounding variables will also be performed.