Babies born prematurely are at an increased risk of having a broad range of mental health problems in young adult life say British researchers.
Bipolar disorder is the most prevalent psychiatric disorder to develop in over-16s who were born very prematurely. Depression and psychosis also has a higher risk than full-term babies.
Lead researcher of the study, Dr Chiara Nosarti, from the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, said that the team found a very strong link between premature birth and a range of mental health problems, although the research was limited to the worst cases of mental illness.
“Since we considered only the most severe cases that resulted in hospitalisation, it may be that in real terms this link is even stronger,” she said in a statement.
In collaboration with Swedish researchers, the King’s College team analysed data from nearly 1.5 million birth and medical records in Sweden between 1973 and 1985 and identified all those admitted to psychiatric hospital by 2002 when they were between the ages of 17 and 29.
The findings, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, showed that young people born before the 32nd week of pregnancy are seven times more likely to develop bipolar disorder than full-term births. Very early preterm individuals were also three times more prone to suffer from depression and two-and-a-half times more from psychosis.
There is a smaller increased risk for those born moderately prematurely, between 32-36 weeks.
Premature babies are particularly vulnerable to brain injury as a result of birth complications.
“We believe that the increased risk of mental disorders in those born very prematurely can be explained by subtle alterations of brain development,” Nosarti said.
Previous research has shown a link between premature birth and an increased risk of schizophrenia. This study is the first to examine a broader range of mental health problems.
“The strongest association we found in this study,” Nosarti said, “was to mental health disorders known to have a strong biological basis, such as bipolar disorder”.
The results lend weight to the theory that brain developmental anomalies in those born prematurely may play an important role for later mental health.
The research team also revealed that premature births are associated with an increased risk of eating disorders, alcohol and drug dependency.
Nosarti and her researchers suggest that preterm birth data should be considered when investigating and treating mental health problems in young adults.
“Future investigations of the mechanisms associated with the increased risk of mental health following preterm birth may aid the early identification of high-risk children, who could then be prospectively identified and closely monitored, to decide if, when, and what interventions may be appropriate,” she said.
Almost 50,000 babies are born prematurely in England and Wales every year, according to government statistics.
However, the risks need to be kept in perspective that these most severe cases still only affect one in six of the population at any one time.
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