Being born early or underweight could mean lower brainpower for life

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-03-31 02:00

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Dutch and English researchers suggest they have found a link between being born prematurely, and having a low birth weight and lower cognitive abilities compared with babies born on time, and at the correct weight. The researchers collated data from 40 past reviews of research on the topic, and say preterm birth or low birth weight was associated with lower IQ, poorer attainment in reading, lower performance in maths, lower performance in spelling, and a greater need for special education support. They say these links became stronger among babies at earlier preterm-birth ages, and lower birth weights, but tended to balance out during the kids' adolescence, though they remained present into their adulthood.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Pediatrics

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Oxford, UK

Funder: Mr Hu receives funding through a China Scholarship Council–University of Oxford scholarship (grant 202406010093). Dr Petrou receives support as a UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) senior investigator (NF-SI-0616-10103) and from the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Oxford and Thames Valley.

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