To study the cognitive outcome of Chinese very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants and its relationship to brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we conducted a prospective cohort design including 104 VLBW and 110 full-term (FT) infants born in 2020. The mean Mental Developmental Index (MDI) and Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI) scores of VLBW infants were significantly lower than those of FT infants (all P < .001). The MDI and PDI scores of VLBW infants with MRI abnormalities were significantly lower than those of infants with normal MRI and FT infants (all P < .01). The brain MRI findings were correlated with the incidence of neurodevelopmental impairments (NDI) (OR = 5.05, 95% CI = 1.378-18.478; P = .015). In conclusion, VLBW infants are at high risk for neonatal brain MRI abnormalities and NDI at 24 months, and neonatal MRI abnormality is a strong predictor for later NDI.
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