Premature birth 'link' to mental illness

From The Age:

A study of premature babies has revealed a link between pre-term births and mental illness, which an expert says has implications for the way mothers and babies should be treated.

The Swedish study of more than 500,000 babies showed infants born very early, between 24 and 28 weeks, were more than twice as likely to be admitted to hospital for a psychiatric disorder in their early 20s than those born at full term.

The study by researchers at Sweden's Karolinska Institute showed 5.5 per cent of those born very early had been admitted to hospital for a psychiatric disorder, compared to 2.4 per cent of those born at full-term.

The psychiatric conditions included mood disorders, stress-related complaints and suicide attempts or deaths.

Even those in the moderate prematurity group, born at 33 to 36 weeks, were at risk with three per cent having been admitted to hospital for a psychiatric disorder.

The study, which followed up premature babies born from 1973 to 1979 through their medical records, made adjustments for other mental illness risk factors including family history and low socioeconomic status.