Significant advances in neonatal intensive care have led to higher survival rates of children born at less than 26 weeks of gestation, known as extremely preterm children - but a new study reveals that they are more likely to have psychiatric disorders.
To investigate the prevalence and risk factors for psychiatric disorders in extremely preterm children, researchers studied 219 such children for 11 years. The data was collected as part of the EPICure Study which followed up extremely preterm children born in the UK and Ireland at one year, two-and-half years, six-eight years, and 10-11 years.
Almost one quarter of such children had a psychiatric disorder at 11 years of age. The most frequent psychiatric conditions were Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (12 percent), emotional disorders (nine percent), and Autism Spectrum Disorders (eight percent). A three-fold higher risk of subsequent mental health problems was also found in those children born prematurely.
The findings show that being born extremely premature puts the infant at a higher risk of psychiatric disorders, which may include both cognitive impairment and early traumatic experiences.
To investigate the prevalence and risk factors for psychiatric disorders in extremely preterm children, researchers studied 219 such children for 11 years. The data was collected as part of the EPICure Study which followed up extremely preterm children born in the UK and Ireland at one year, two-and-half years, six-eight years, and 10-11 years.
Almost one quarter of such children had a psychiatric disorder at 11 years of age. The most frequent psychiatric conditions were Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (12 percent), emotional disorders (nine percent), and Autism Spectrum Disorders (eight percent). A three-fold higher risk of subsequent mental health problems was also found in those children born prematurely.
The findings show that being born extremely premature puts the infant at a higher risk of psychiatric disorders, which may include both cognitive impairment and early traumatic experiences.