Babies with a very low birth weight may be at much higher risk of depression, ADHD or other psychiatric conditions in adulthood, compared with those born a healthy weight, and steroid use just before birth may increase this risk even further. This is according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics.
But it is not all bad news for very low-birth-weight babies; the research team - led by Dr. Ryan Van Lieshout, professor of psychiatry and neurosciences in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University in Canada - also found they are at lower risk of alcohol or substance abuse.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 8% of babies in the US were born a low birth weight (less than 2,500 g) in 2013, while around 1.4% of babies were born a very low birth weight (less than 1,500 g).
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