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Very premature babies at higher risk of psychiatric disorders

Infants born before 32 weeks gestation have higher rates of psychiatric disorders by school age, a study has found.

Researchers looked at 177 very preterm children and found they were three times more likely to meet the criteria for a psychiatric disorder by age seven than children born at term.

The most common psychiatric diagnoses for very preterm children were anxiety disorders (11%), ADHD (10%) and autism spectrum disorders (4.5%)

Results from the study will increase the opportunity for intervention in early childhood.

Read more at Murdoch Children's Research Institute

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