MONDAY, May 5, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Parents of teens who were born at extremely low birth weights -- less than 2.2 pounds -- are more likely than parents of those born at normal weights to report their adolescents have hyperactivity, depression or other problems, a new Canadian study finds.
But the teens themselves don't see a problem. Those born at the low birth weights don't think they suffer any more hyperactivity, depression or other problems than do their peers born at normal weight, the researchers report in the May issue of Pediatrics.
The study results are reassuring because the children have positive self-images, says Dr. Saroj Saigal, a professor of pediatrics in the division of neonatology at McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario.
"The parents perceive that premature children compared to control children have more attention problems and more behavior problems, but the children don't perceive any differences, and this is in keeping with our previous studies," Saigal says.
Saigal's team has been following a group of nearly 400 children, born at extremely low birth weights between 1977 and 1982, to see if they are more likely to have problems in school and with social relationships. The researchers recruited a group of control children born at normal weights and have compared the two groups over time.
Previously, Saigal and other researchers have found that children born at very low birth weights are vulnerable to problems of inattention and hyperactivity at elementary school age, and to more anxiety, depression and school failure.
But less is known, Saigal says, about what happens when the children reach adolescence. To find out if the problems remained or diminished, her team drew candidates from the overall group, selecting 141 teens born at extremely low birth weight and 143 of their parents, along with 122 normal weight teens and 123 parents.
Besides the differences in reports of depression and hyperactivity, the parents of extremely low birth weight teens were also more likely to say their child had problems with clumsiness and problems with sports performance, among other difficulties. But again, the teens themselves did not see themselves as inferior to their peers in these areas.
Saigal can't explain with certainly why the teens born at extremely low birth weight remain so positive about themselves. It could be denial, recalibration of expectations or other factors, she says.
The study results, she says, underscore the importance of the advice she has been giving to parents of children born at extremely low birth weight for years. "What we have advised parents is that premature children are more likely than those children born at term to have school difficulties and behavioral problems, and to be aware of this and to seek help appropriately and early," she says.
Low birth weight can occur when an infant is born before 37 weeks of gestation, when intrauterine growth is retarded, or both.
Saigal is talking only about the tiniest of the tiny babies, who are categorized as extremely low birth weight. "The problems are for those less than 2.2 pounds at birth," she says. Babies are categorized as "very low birth weight" if they weigh less than 3 pounds, and "low birth weight" if 5 pounds or less.
Like Saigal, another expert calls the study somewhat reassuring.
"It is encouraging that these kids are growing up with good self-esteem and not feeling bad about themselves," says Dr. Dennis Woo, chairman of the pediatrics department at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica, Calif.
"One of the concerns of parents [of extremely low birth weight children] is, the kids will feel different or out of place," Woo says. This study seems to put those fears to rest, he adds.
Saigal says she is eager to interpret the results of upcoming studies, in which she will assess how her study participants -- now in their 20s -- are doing as young adults on the job. "What I am interested in is how they are doing in real life," she says.
More information
To learn about healthy prenatal care, see The National Women's Health Information Center. For details on safe transportation of low birth weight infants, see the American Academy of Pediatrics.
