15 million babies are born preterm worldwide.
By Raif Karerat
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A recent study published in the journal Psychological Science has linked the birth of premature babies to less intelligence, lower mathematical skills, and less wealth at the later stages of life.
The findings suggest pre-term birth is linked to lower academic abilities, lower educational attainment, and lower paid jobs.
“Our findings suggest that the economic costs of preterm birth are not limited to health care and educational support in childhood, but extend well into adulthood,” said the study’s co-author, Dr. Dieter Wolke of the University of Warwick, in a press release. “Together, these results suggest that the effects of prematurity via academic performance on wealth are long term, lasting into the fifth decade of life.”
According to the study, 15 million babies are born preterm worldwide. These rates are also growing, rising from 7.2 percent in 1990 to 8.6 percent in 2010, leaving many doctors worried as premature children are often known to have problems with cognitive development throughout their lives.
To conduct their research, Wolke and his team analyzed data from two expansive studies, the National Child Development Study and the British Cohort Study.
It allowed researchers to follow children born in a single week in England, Scotland and Wales, more than a decade apart — the National Child Development Study follows those born in 1958, while the British Cohort Study recruited children born in 1970. In total, the study incorporated 15,000 people.
To measure participants’ wealth, researchers looked at a combination of their family income and social class, their housing and employment status, and their own perceptions of their financial situation.
To gauge academic abilities, the scientists examined a number of assessments pertaining to math, reading, and intelligence, combined with ratings from teachers and parents.
They found in both groups — from 1958 and 1970 — children born premature tended to have lower wealth by the time they reached 42 years of age.
“What is perhaps most surprising is that most of the children we studied were not very pre-term — born, on average, only five weeks early — and still we find these long lasting effects,” said co-author Maartje Basten.