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Prematurity and low birth weight associated with increased risk of ADHD diagnosis and symptoms: Meta‐analysis
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the brown university child and adolescent psychopharmacology update
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1556-7567
pISSN - 1527-8395
DOI - 10.1002/cpu.30273
Subject(s) - low birth weight , medicine , birth weight , attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , pediatrics , meta analysis , psychiatry , pregnancy , genetics , biology
Preterm and low‐birth‐weight (LBW) newborns have an increased risk of being diagnosed with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) compared with controls, researchers have found in a literature review. These risks are even greater as preterm and low birth weight are more extreme. The researchers, whose study is published in the January issue of Pediatrics , found that very preterm/very low‐birth‐weight (VP/VLBW) subjects have an increased risk of ADHD diagnosis and symptomatology, and the findings are even stronger in the extremely preterm/extremely low‐birth‐weight (EP/ELBW) group. They recommend that future research look at which risk factors related to prematurity or low birth weight lead to ADHD.