Risk of emotional problems for premature babies

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Warwick (UK) children born extremely prematurely are four times more likely to have emotional problems or behavioural disorders later in life, according to a study led by the department of psychology at the University of Warwick and Warwick Medical School.

Research into 200 6 year olds born at less than 26 weeks showed that 30.6 % were hyperactive, compared with 8.8 % of a control group of their peers; 33.3% displayed attention problems, compared with 6.8% of the control group.

The study attempted to contact the family of every child born in the UK and Ireland at 25 weeks or earlier between March and December 1995. The parents of 241 children from a possible 308 who survived to the age of 6 responded.
The team compared the behaviour of the extremely pre-term children with a control group of a similar age based on reports filed by parents and teachers. The research highlighted a difference between boys and girls in the pre-term group. Boys born extremely prematurely showed a higher degree of behavioural problems, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, with girls experiencing more 'internalising' disorders, such as anxiety and depression.
(The Times,9/9/2008).