from a large long study of “very preterm”. i’m at the edge of very preterm, not quite in the “extreme preterm”. so far most effects in stats are cerebral palsy and similar non -CP – which i expect. After pages of nothing else significant outside of IQ issues, here’s the stuff i wanted to find out : and a 21-28% rate so i’m in good company (will also compare to extreme preterm as i’m nearly that) :
“In childhood, a preterm behavioral phenotype has been described, characterized by an in- creased risk for attention problems, emotional problems, and difficulties with social interaction, alongside no increased risk for aggressive or delinquent behavior (Johnson & Marlow 2011, Mathewson 2017). This was first evidenced by a similar pattern of findings in five cohort studies (Farooqi et al. 2007, Hille et al. 2001).
At the diagnostic level, a meta-analysis of five studies identified an OR of 3.66 (95% CI, 2.57 to 5.21) for psychiatric disorders in preterm/LBW children and adolescents relative to full-term controls, with prevalence estimates that ranged from 21% to 28% (Burnett et al. 2011). The pattern of disorders observed in preterm populations indicates an increased risk for attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depressive and anxiety disorders, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), alongside no increased risk for disruptive, impulse-control, or conduct disorders ( Johnson & Marlow 2011, Johnson & Wolke 2013).
ADHD is the most common disorder after VP birth for which fairly consistent risk estimates have been reported, with ORs of 3.3 (95% CI, 2.0 to 5.6) (Allotey et al. 2018) and 3.04 (95% CI, 2.19 to 4.21) for ADHD in VP children and adolescents (Franz et al. 2018). The odds are even higher for those born EP/ELBW (OR, 4.05; 95% CI, 2.38 to 6.87) (Franz et al. 2018). VP children with high levels of ADHD symptoms show wide-ranging cognitive deficits ( James et al. 2018, Retzler et al. 2019), which might also account for the comorbidity of psychiatric disorders in this population. In particular, a highly increased risk for ASD has also been reported in VP populations, with a prevalence of 7% among children born VP (Agrawal et al. 2018) and up to 8% among those born EP ( Johnson et al. 2010).
There is good evidence that internalizing symptoms assessed in rating scales in VP persist into adulthood (Mathewson 2017, Pyhälä et al. 2017, Van Lieshout et al. 2018b). In contrast, diag- noses of emotional disorders reduce by adulthood, with EP/VP survivors showing better emo- tional adaptation than once anticipated (Burnett et al. 2014, Jaekel et al. 2018a, Johnson et al. 2019b). Whether this is a true decline or due to reduced statistical power resulting from loss from follow-up is not yet clear. Conversely, both ADHD symptoms and diagnoses have been found to persist into adulthood (Breeman et al. 2016a, Burnett et al. 2014).”
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Peer relationships. An important aspect of social development is the ability to relate to and form relationships with peers. A systematic review of 23 studies found that VP children and adolescents have higher levels of social withdrawal and peer problems than children born at term (Ritchie et al. 2015). Furthermore, studies that included the child’s own self-report found that VP children have fewer close friends, spend less time with friends, and are less satisfied with their friendship network than their term-born peers (Heuser et al. 2018, Ritchie et al. 2018). VP children are also more than twice as likely to be socially excluded and bullied than term-born children, and this often persists from elementary to secondary school (Day et al. 2015, Ritchie et al. 2018, Wolke et al. 2015a). Poor peer relationships among VP children are important, as they are associated with emotional problems, inattention and hyperactivity, motor deficits (Day et al. 2015, Heuser et al. 2018, Ritchie et al. 2018), and the display of more autistic features (i.e., higher rates of social and communication problems) (Williamson & Jakobson 2014). Despite having fewer friends, direct observation of dyadic interactions between friends, one of whom was born preterm, found that friendship activities and behaviors are similar between children born preterm and at term, as well as their perceived relationship quality (Sullivan et al. 2012). It appears that VP children’s withdrawn behavior may hinder them in forming and maintaining successful peer relationships.
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close! i smoked for a long time.
ADULT LIFE
Personality
Compared with term-born controls, adults born VP are less extraverted (Eryigit-Madzwamuse et al. 2015, Pesonen et al. 2008), more agreeable and cautious (Hertz et al. 2013, Pesonen et al. 2008), more shy and withdrawn (Eryigit-Madzwamuse et al. 2015, Johnson et al. 2019b), and less prone to criminal and risk-taking behaviors, such as smoking and illicit drug and alcohol use (Eryigit-Madzwamuse et al. 2015, Hack et al. 2002, Hille et al. 2008). VP-born adults report higher levels of neuroticism and more autistic features than term-born controls (Allin et al. 2006, Eryigit-Madzwamuse et al. 2015, Hertz et al. 2013). VP adults’ socially withdrawn personality or adverse peer experiences may make it more difficult for them to form and maintain social relationships.
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