Significant advances in the neonatal intensive care have resulted in increased survival rates of children who are born at less than 26 weeks of gestation, so termed "extremely preterm children". Notably, however, improved survival rates have been accompanied by a higher risk for later cognitive, neuromotor, and sensory impairments in these children.
An 11-year follow-up study of 219 extremely preterm children by Johnson and colleagues sought to determine the prevalence and risk factors for psychiatric disorders in this population. The researchers discovered that almost one quarter of extremely preterm children had a psychiatric disorder at 11 years of age. The most frequent psychiatric conditions were Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (12%), emotional disorders (9%), and Autism Spectrum Disorders (8%). The investigation also reports a threefold overall greater risk of subsequent mental health problems in those children born prematurely. The findings of the British researchers are reported in May 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
This is the first study to systematically investigate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in a contemporary population of extremely preterm survivors. The data were collected as part of the EPICure Study which followed up extremely preterm children born in the United Kingdom and Ireland at 1 year, 2.5 years, 6-8 years, and 10-11 years. The EPICure study, established in 1995, was intended to determine the chances of survival and subsequent health of survivors.