Abstract
Objectives:
Faster growth after preterm birth benefits long-term cognitive functioning. Whether these benefits extend to mental health remains largely unknown. We examined if faster growth in infancy is associated with better self-reported mental health in young adults born preterm at very low birth weight (VLBW) (< 1500 g).
Study design:
As young adults, participants of the Helsinki Study of Very Low Birth Weight Adults self-reported symptoms of depression and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (n = 157) and other psychiatric problems (n = 104). As main predictors of mental health outcomes in linear regression models, we used infant weight, length, and head circumference at birth, term, and 12 months of corrected age, and growth between these time points. Growth data were collected from records and measures at term and at 12 months of corrected age were interpolated. Additionally, we examined the moderating effects of intrauterine growth restriction.
Results:
Size at birth, term, or 12 months of corrected age, or growth between these time points were not associated with mental health outcomes (p-values >0.05). Intrauterine growth restriction did not systematically moderate any associations.
Conclusions:
Despite the high variability in early growth of VLBW infants, the previously described association between slow growth in infancy and poorer cognitive functioning in later life is not reflected in symptoms of depression, ADHD, and other psychiatric problems. This suggests that the development of cognitive and psychiatric problems may have dissimilar critical periods in VLBW infants.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Adult
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Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / psychology
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Cognition / physiology
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Depression / psychology
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Developmental Disabilities / psychology*
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Female
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Humans
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Infant
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Infant, Newborn
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Infant, Premature / growth & development*
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Infant, Premature / psychology*
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Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / growth & development
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Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / psychology
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Male
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Mental Health / statistics & numerical data*
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Physiological Phenomena / physiology
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Premature Birth / psychology*
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Term Birth / psychology
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Young Adult
Grants and funding
This study was carried out as part of the larger research project, the Helsinki Study of Very Low Birth Weight Adults, which has been funded by the Academy of Finland, University of Helsinki, the Finnish Medical Society Duodecim, Finska Läkaresällskapet, the Foundation for Pediatric Research in Finland, the Finnish Special Governmental Subsidy for Health Sciences, the Jalmari and Rauha Ahokas Foundation, the Juho Vainio Foundation, the Emil Aaltonen foundation, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Päivikki and Sakari Sohlberg Foundation, the Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation, the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation, the Orion-Pharma Foundation, the Sigrid Jusélius Foundation, the Finnish National Graduate School of Clinical Investigation, the Wilhelm and Else Stockmann Foundation, Research Foundation of the University of Helsinki, and the Pediatric Graduate School, University of Helsinki. Apart from the aforementioned general funding, the authors received no grants specifically for carrying out the current study, and the authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.