By Anne Harding, Medscape, February 6, 2020
Spending time in the neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU) is associated with an increased risk of psychiatric disorders in childhood and adolescence, according to a new population-based study.
"In childhood, the risks of separation anxiety, specific phobia, oppositional defiant disorder and ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) were particularly pronounced while adolescents tended to struggle more with oppositional defiant disorder," Dr. Andreea Chiorean of McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, told Reuters Health by email.
Premature and low-birthweight infants appear to have worse mental health in childhood and beyond, Dr. Chiorean and her team note in the Archives of Disease in Childhood. However, they add, a substantial number of NICU patients are born at term and at normal weight.
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