Premature babies have higher risk of developing psychiatric problems when adults: Study

Babies who are born prematurely with an extremely low birth weight are more likely to develop psychiatric challenges, according to new Canadian research.

The study looked at 84 adults who were born weighing under two pounds, two ounces, as well as 90 normal birth weight babies. All were born in Ontario between 1977 and 1982.

According to the study, the researchers found that those with low birth weights were three times less likely to develop substance abuse disorders by their early 30s, but were two and a half times more likely to develop psychiatric problems such as depression, anxiety disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

"Importantly, we have identified psychiatric risks that may develop for extremely low birth weight survivors as they become adults, and this understanding will help us better predict, detect and treat mental disorders in this population," said Dr. Ryan Van Lieshout, lead author of the study and a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences for the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster.

Lead author Dr. Ryan Van Lieshout says the findings reveal an association between the life-saving steroids given to the mothers of preemies and issues such as depression and ADHD.

"Those exposed to [antenatal corticosteroids] were at especially high risk and manifested no reduction in alcohol or substance use disorders," wrote the authors in their published research appearing in Pediatrics. For this reason, preemie survivors exposed to a full course of life-saving steroids while still in the womb "may be a special group at risk for psychopathology in adulthood," the researchers noted.