Low birth-weight and mental-health problems

Low birth weight has been associated with a range of health problems in later life including mental-health problems in childhood. A study of 823 children in Detroit looked into the effects of low birth weight on children's mental health and compared 413 children from a socially-disadvantaged community to 410 children from a middle-class suburban one. In both groups children with low birth weights were more likely to have externalising (bad behaviour) and internalising (unhappiness and anxiety) problems. Low-birth-weight children from the socially-disadvantaged community were also more likely to have problems with attention which is important as attention problems at the start of schooling are linked to lower academic achievement later.

You can find out more about this research at

http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/09/03/low-birth-weight-kids-at-risk-for-mental-problems/2870.html