The Impact of Premature Birth and Low Birth Weight on Motor, Visual, and Cognitive Skills and Mental Health in Adolescence: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Mental disorders represent a significant challenge for individuals and society. Many of them have a detectable onset during adolescence. Being born preterm or with low birth weight (PTB) has been emerging as a potential risk factor for developing mental health disorders in adolescence. Since PTB infants are also at an increased risk of developing cerebral visual impairment after birth and cognitive and sensory deficits throughout life, this systematic review seeks to understand the interplay between PTB, cognitive, visual, and motor abilities and their influence on mental health outcomes in adolescence.

We conducted a registered systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines (PROSPERO #513150). The search strategy focused on the databases PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Library and included publications sampling participants born in 1980 or later.

We analysed 18 studies including a total of 13.655 adolescents aged 11-20 (PTB=8.813, control=4.852) published between 2004 and 2022. PTB adolescents exhibited consistent and persistent deficits in cognitive and motor domains compared to their full-term (FT) peers, including lower intelligent quotient (IQ), attention and executive function, and a higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders. Several studies demonstrate that PTB adolescents require psychiatric treatment more often and get diagnosed with more complex psychiatric disorders. Evidence for functional visual alterations is scarce.

These findings highlight the multitude of challenges that PTB children face across multiple domains including their mental health. Quantifiying these challenges individually may represent potential markers for tailoring early detection and intervention to this vulnerable population and optimising their long-term outcomes.