Behavioral and Cognitive Assessment in a Cohort of Term Small-for-Gestational-Age Children

SGA children demonstrated significantly lower Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores than AGA peers, with marked weaknesses in Perceptual Reasoning index (PRI) and Processing Speed index (PSI), while Verbal Comprehension and Working Memory were preserved. They also exhibited higher internalizing behavioral symptoms, whereas externalizing behaviors did not differ between groups. Birth head circumference emerged as a strong predictor of PRI and a modest predictor of PSI. No associations were found between rhGH treatment parameters and cognitive outcomes. Larger longitudinal studies are needed to clarify how early growth restriction affects brain development and cognition and whether GH therapy influences these processes.