Independent Living and Romantic Relations Among Young Adults Born Preterm

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Young adults born preterm at very low birth weight start families later. Whether less severe immaturity affects adult social outcomes is poorly known. METHODS: The study “Preterm birth and early life programming of adult health and disease” (ESTER, 2009–2011) identified adults born early preterm (<34 weeks’ gestation, N = 149), late preterm (≥34 to <37 weeks’ gestation, N = 248), and at term (≥37 weeks’ gestation, N = 356) from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 and the Finnish Medical Birth Register (1987–1989), with perinatal data, medical and family history, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle from routine visits or questionnaires. Cox, logistic, and ordinal regressions estimated the hazard and odds ratios (HR and OR) with 95% confidence intervals of outcomes related to preterm birth. RESULTS: Compared with term-born subjects, those born early and late preterm were less likely to have cohabited with a romantic partner (HR, 0.79; [0.61–1.03] and HR, 0.80; [0.65–0.99], respectively) or experienced sexual intercourse (HR, 0.83; [0.66–1.05] and HR, 0.76; [0.63–0.92], respectively) by young adulthood. They also had higher odds of obtaining a 1-point lower score in a visual analog scale of self-perceived sexual attractiveness (OR, 1.45; [1.09–1.98] and OR, 1.44; [1.06–1.97] for early and late preterm birth, respectively). No difference was observed in the likelihood of departing from childhood home and number of individuals having their own families. CONCLUSIONS: Young adults born preterm experience more social challenges, which may affect their romantic relationships and future family planning.

Mood and anxiety disorders in very preterm/very low–birth weight individuals from 6 to 26 years

“…Our findings suggest that higher rates of psychiatric problems and antidepressant medication could be partly explained by VP/VLBW adults' higher risk of being without a romantic partner rather than due to increased depression symptomatology. This is consistent with repeated findings that VP/VLBW have higher scores for socially withdrawn personality traits (Eryigit Madzwamuse et al, 2015;Waxman, Van Lieshout, Saigal, Boyle, & Schmidt, 2013) and romantic relationship problems (M€ annist€ o et al, 2015;Saigal et al, 2016). In accordance with recent findings (Van Lieshout et al, 2015), our supplementary data suggest an increased prevalence of social phobia in VP/VLBW adults.…”

“…Recent studies have found that VP/VLBW young adults often have poor social support and are less likely to engage in romantic relationships than termborn adults (D'Onofrio et al, 2013;Darlow, Horwood, Pere-Bracken, & Woodward, 2013;M€ annist€ o et al, 2015). A supportive partner relationship can provide protection against the development of psychiatric problems (La Greca & Harrison, 2005;Ozbay, Fitterling, Charney, & Southwick, 2008).…”

Food and nutrient intakes in young adults born preterm

“…We have been able to take in account a wide range of confounding factors, although the risk of residual confounding still remains a possibility. As previously reported (37), those born preterm live at their parents' home longer, which may improve their dietary choices. This was adjusted for in the analyses.…”

Health, Wealth, Social Integration, and Sexuality of Extremely Low-Birth-Weight Prematurely Born Adults in the Fourth Decade of Life

“…Several international studies on the young adult outcomes of very premature infants have been published in the last decade from Canada, [1][2][3][4][5] the United States, 6,7 England, 8 Sweden, 9 Norway, 10 the Netherlands, 11 Denmark, 12 Finland, 13 and Australia. 14 These reports reveal that these individuals have poorer educational 6,[8][9][10][11] and employment outcomes, 6,11 fewer leave the parental home, 13 and more experience delays in the onset of sexual activity, 6,8,11,13,15 marriage or cohabitation, 7,13,15 and reproduction. [16][17][18] In addition, a higher prevalence of chronic physical 4,7,14 and mental health issues 5,[19][20][21][22] have been noted, although risk-taking behaviors appear to be less common.…”