RT Journal
A1 Nomura Y, Chemtob CM
T1 COnjoined effects of low birth weight and childhood abuse on adaptation and well-being in adolescence and adulthood
JF Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
JO Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
YR 2007
FD February 1
VO 161
IS 2
SP 186
OP 192
DO 10.1001/archpedi.161.2.186
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.161.2.186
AB Objective 
    To characterize the conjoined effects of low birth weight (LBW) and childhood abuse on impaired adaptation and illness in adolescence and adulthood.Design 
    Longitudinal study of a birth cohort.Setting 
    Baltimore, Md.Participants 
    Children (N = 1748) were followed from birth to adulthood (mean age, 26 years) as part of the Johns Hopkins Collaborative Perinatal Study.Main Exposures 
    Childhood abuse and LBW.Main Outcome Measures 
    Indicators of adaptation were delinquency, school suspension, repeating grades, academic honors, quality of life, and socioeconomic status. Indicators of psychiatric and medical problems were depression, social dysfunction, somatization, asthma, and hypertension.Results 
    Participants with both LBW and subsequent childhood abuse, relative to those with neither risk, were at a substantially elevated risk for psychological problems: 10-fold for depression; nearly 9-fold for social dysfunction, and more than 4-fold for somatization. However, they were not at an elevated risk for medical problems in adulthood. Those exposed to childhood abuse were more likely to report delinquency, school suspension, repeating grades during adolescence, and impaired well-being in adulthood, regardless of LBW status. For those with LBW alone, the prevalence of those problems was comparable with that of individuals without either risk factor.Conclusions 
    Children with LBW and childhood abuse are at much greater risk for poor adaptation and psychiatric problems than those with LBW alone and those with neither risk. Preventive interventions should target families with LBW children who are at greater risk for childhood abuse.