Very Preterm Birth, Very Low Birth Weight Linked to Lower Positive Functioning in Early Adulthood

FRIDAY, July 24, 2026 (HealthDay News) — A substantial portion of adults born either very preterm (VP) or with very low birth weight (VLBW) exhibit lower positive functioning in early adulthood, according to a study published online July 20 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Elif Gönen, Ph.D., from University of Warwick in Coventry, England, and colleagues sought to identify childhood factors associated with positive functioning in adulthood (at age 34 years) among 416 people, of whom 214 were born VP (<32 weeks of gestation) or with VLBW (<1,500 g birth weight).

The researchers found that 56 percent of those born VP or with VLBW were at optimal functioning in adulthood, 26 percent had moderate functioning with low partner relationships scores, and 18 percent had low economic and social functioning with the lowest wealth, partner, and peer relationship scores. Compared with the low-functioning profile, those with optimal functioning had substantially higher mean life satisfaction scores. When adjusting for childhood factors, compared with optimal functioning, each standard deviation increase in IQ was associated with decreased odds for low economic and social functioning (odds ratio, 0.21).

“What”s striking is that the strongest thread running through all of this is childhood cognitive ability, and that isn”t set in stone,” senior author Dieter Wolke, Ph.D., also from the University of Warwick, said in a statement. “It responds to the environment a child grows up in. Supporting children”s thinking and learning skills early on, through positive parenting and good schooling, could make a real difference to how their lives unfold decades later.”

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