Outcomes at school-age of children born extremely preterm or extremely low birth weight in Victoria, Australia: protocol for the 8–9 years follow-up of the prospective, longitudinal Victorian Infant Collaborative Study (VICS) 2016–2017 cohort

JLY Cheong; TNN Nguyen; JE Olsen; L Pigdon; C Du Berry; L Howlin; RM Mainzer; PJ Anderson; AJ Spittle; LW Doyle; N Abraham; T Alarcon-Martinez; P Anderson; S Axford; R Boland; M Charlton; J Chen; M Clark; N Davis; L Doyle; J Duff; M Goh; A Haikerwal; L Hickey; E Johnston; E Josev; A Kwong; R Mainzer; D Malcolm; E Muggli; TNN Nguyen; E Noble; B Novella; KA O’Connor; S Ojiambo; J Olsen; G Roberts; S Rostron; A Spittle; P Stevens; A Stewart; AM Turner; T Woods; L Zhou

Journal article

Outcomes at school-age of children born extremely preterm or extremely low birth weight in Victoria, Australia: protocol for the 8–9 years follow-up of the prospective, longitudinal Victorian Infant Collaborative Study (VICS) 2016–2017 cohort

JLY Cheong, TNN Nguyen, JE Olsen, L Pigdon, C Du Berry, L Howlin, RM Mainzer, PJ Anderson, AJ Spittle, LW Doyle, N Abraham, T Alarcon-Martinez, P Anderson, S Axford, R Boland, M Charlton, J Chen, M Clark, N Davis, L Doyle Show all

BMJ Open | BMJ | Published : 2026

DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2026-120087

Open access

Abstract

Introduction: Children born extremely preterm (EP; <28 weeks’ gestation) and/or extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1000 g) are at increased risk of difficulties across a range of neurodevelopmental domains and respiratory outcomes long term. The Victorian Infant Collaborative Study (VICS) in Australia has tracked detailed perinatal and developmental outcomes across four distinct EP/ELBW birth cohorts: 1991–1992, 1997, 2005 and 2016–2017. Improvements in 2-year developmental outcomes were reported in the VICS 2016–2017 cohort compared with previous eras; however, whether these improvements are sustained to school-age is not known. The aim of the follow-up study is to assess neurodevelopmental..

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