Very premature or underweight babies risk becoming neurotic adults – study

Researchers say such babies, born weighing less than 1,500g or before 32 weeks of pregnancy, are more likely to grow into introverted and risk-averse adults

Children who were born very prematurely or were very underweight at birth are at risk of growing up to become introverted, neurotic and risk-averse adults, according to a new study.

The researchers, publishing in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, part of the BMJ group, say that adults born with very low birth weight are more likely to have what they describe as a “socially withdrawn personality”. They are easily worried, less socially engaged, less interested in risk-taking, and more rigid and poorer in communication. Their findings, they say, may explain why people born early or underweight are more likely to have difficulties in their career and relationships.

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