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Very premature and underweight babies are at risk of growing up as neurotic adults

Researchers suggest that babies born before 32 weeks of pregnancy or with a birthweight lower than 1500 grams are at risk of being more risk averse, neurotic and introverted compared to babies who were born full term.

The study, which was led by researchers at the University of Warwick and published in the journal Archives of Childhood Disease, compared personality assessments of 200 adults who were born prematurely or with low birthweight with those of adults who were born full term.

They found that prematurely born adults scored higher on personality traits such as introversion, neuroticism and agreeableness. They also reported more autistic features compared to adults born at full term. This is the first study to investigate the long term impact of very premature birth and low birthweight on personality. 

For the full story, go here.

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