How being a very premature or underweight baby affects you in later life

Dr Suna Eryigit-Madzwamuse, Research Fellow with the School of Health Sciences, has recently completed a study investigating the effects of premature or underweight birth on personalities of those babies as adults in collaboration with University of Warwick, University of Oxford and University Hospital Bonn.

The research study follows on from other studies showing a tendency to lower IQ and autism in very premature and/or very low birth weight babies. However, this was the first study to look at the personality of such children in adulthood.

The study involved 200 adults, now aged 26, who were all part of the Bavarian Longitudinal Study, which has been tracking the health and wellbeing of babies born in 1985-86 in southern Bavaria, Germany. They had been born very prematurely or with very low birth weight and the study compared them with 197 others born at term and of normal weight.

Dr Suna Eryigit-Madezwa

Dr Suna Eryigit-Madzwamuse

The findings showed that, as adults, those very premature and or very low birth weight babies are more likely to have a higher risk of introverted behaviour. They had much higher levels of autistic behaviours, introversion, neuroticism (tenseness and anxiety) and agreeableness, and lower levels of being open to new experiences and conscientiousness. These findings may explain why people born early or underweight are more likely to have difficulties in their career and relationships.

Professor Dieter Wolke from the University of Warwick, who led the study said: “This is an important study which provides convincing evidence that events that occur early in development contribute to specific aspects of personality. Personality characteristics are very important because they help people to develop into adult roles and form and maintain social relationships.”