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Preemies showed increased risk for ADHD
Lindstrom K. Pediatrics. 2011;doi:10.1542/peds.2010-1279.
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Babies who are born prematurely may be at increased risk for developing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, according to a study published online.
Karolina Lindström, MD, of the department of clinical sciences and education at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, and colleagues said the possibility of neurological and psychological problems in children who are born preterm has been well documented. Follow-up studies on ADHD children who had been born preterm have focused almost exclusively on children who were born extremely preterm (23-28 weeks’ gestation).
Lindström and colleagues focused on a group of children born moderately preterm who developed ADHD later in life. The researchers honed in on this particular age group because “this much larger group of infants also is at risk for negative outcomes in school age and young adulthood.”
The study cohort consisted of children born in Sweden between 1987 and 2000. A total of 1,180,616 children were declared eligible for the follow-up study in 2006. The children ranged in age from 6 to 19 years. Of that cohort, 7,506 children had been prescribed some type of ADHD medication before 2006.
“The ORs for ADHD medication were 2.5 for 23 to 28 weeks’ gestation, 1.9 for 29 to 32 weeks, 1.6 for 33 to 34 weeks, 1.4 for 35 to 36 weeks and 1.2 for 37 to 38 weeks’ gestation compared with being born at term,” the researchers said.
They said their findings show that “more attention is needed toward the advancement of care and follow-up for infants born moderately preterm.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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As this study illustrates, any preterm infant is at higher risk for neurodevelopmental problems, including the very common disorder, ADHD. The primary care physician must bear this in mind in the long-term developmental surveillance of these children, especially as they enter elementary school.
-Paul H. Lipkin, MD
Infectious
Diseases in Children Editorial Board member
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