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[email protected] Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association International Journal of Epidemiology 2009;38:944–954 ß The Author 2009; all rights reserved. Advance Access publication 11 May 2009 doi:10.1093/ije/dyp204
LIFE COURSE EPIDEMIOLOGY
Low birthweight and subsequent emotional and behavioural outcomes in 12-year-old children in Soweto, South Africa: findings from Birth to Twenty Farnaz Sabet,1 Linda M Richter,2 Paul G Ramchandani,1* Alan Stein,1 Maria A Quigley3 and Shane A Norris4
Accepted
1 April 2009
Background The fetal origins hypothesis suggests that an adverse prenatal environment, indexed by low birthweight (LBW), may increase the risk of developing later disease. Recently the hypothesis has been extended to psychological outcomes, especially depression. The aim of this analysis was to test, for the first time in a developing country setting, the association between LBW and psychological symptoms, in Soweto, South Africa. Methods
A sample of 1029 children was drawn from Birth to Twenty, a longitudinal cohort followed from pregnancy to young adulthood. This sample completed the Youth Self Report at age 12 years, a validated psychological measure of behavioural and emotional adjustment. Scores were compared between LBW (
