Table 3 Whole study sample: effect of birth in periods with universal newborn screening (UNS) on reading and communication z scores in children with permanent childhood hearing impairment (PCHI) at primary school age

Z scores‡	Born in periods with/without UNS for PCHI
	No		Group mean* z score‡ (SD)		Unadjusted* mean difference (95% CI) (a−b)	p Value	Adjusted† mean difference (95% CI)	p Value
	With UNS	Without UNS	With UNS (a)	Without UNS (b)	Unadjusted* mean difference (95% CI) (a−b)	p Value	Adjusted† mean difference (95% CI)	p Value
WORD reading ability
Basic reading (x)	51	51	−0.64 (1.19)	−0.97 (1.26)	0.31 (−0.17 to 0.79)	0.21	0.40 (−0.00 to 0.80)	0.051
Reading comprehension (y)	50	48	−0.82 (1.12)	−1.04 (1.24)	0.22 (−0.25 to 0.69)	0.35	0.38 (−0.02 to 0.77)	0.062
Aggregate reading (x + y)/2	51	51	−0.74 (1.12)	−1.06 (1.25)	0.30 (−0.17 to 0.77)	0.20	0.39 (0.02 to 0.76)	0.042
VABS communication scale	50	48	−0.21 (1.13)	−0.64 (1.39)	0.43 (−0.08 to 0.94)	0.096	0.51 (0.06 to 0.95)	0.026

*Adjusted only for age at assessment.
†Adjusted, in a linear regression model, for severity of PCHI, maternal educational qualifications and Ravens Coloured Progressive Matrices (non-verbal ability) score.
‡Negative scores indicate that scores were lower than those seen in the normally hearing comparison group.1
VABS, Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales; WORD, Weschler Objective Reading Dimensions.