Outcomes in Young Adulthood for Very-Low-Birth-Weight Infants

Very-low-birth-weight infants (those weighing less than 1500 g) born during the initial years of neonatal intensive care have now reached young adulthood.

We compared a cohort of 242 survivors among very-low-birth-weight infants born between 1977 and 1979 (mean birth weight, 1179 g; mean gestational age at birth, 29.7 weeks) with 233 controls from the same population in Cleveland who had normal birth weights. We assessed the level of education, cognitive and academic achievement, and rates of chronic illness and risk-taking behavior at 20 years of age. Outcomes were adjusted for sex and sociodemographic status.