Babies born at 36 weeks gestation or earlier had double the chance of being admitted to hospital for mental disorders as those born on term, while those born at 32 weeks or earlier had three times the risk, a study found.

Previous research had indicated preterm babies were more likely to have behavioural problems at school, but the new study of 1.3 million Swedish medical records found that the risk could extend into adulthood.

Researchers from King’s College London examined the hospital records of 10,000 people who were admitted to hospital for depression, psychosis, bipolar disorder, eating disorders and alcohol or drug addiction. They found that in adulthood, people who had been born very prematurely (less than 32 weeks gestation) were three times as likely to experience depression, 7.4 times as likely to have bipolar disorder, 2.5 times as likely to suffer from psychosis and 3.5 times as likely to develop an eating disorder.

Those born moderately prematurely (33 to 36 weeks early) had 1.3 times the chance of depression, 2.7 times the chance of bipolar disorder and 1.6 times the chance of psychosis.

via Premature babies twice as prone to mental disorders – Telegraph.