Are children born prematurely at increased risk for ADHD?

The frequency of ADHD in children born prematurely is fairly high. One study compared children who had been born prematurely with children who were from the same social class but had been born at full-term. When the children were evaluated at age 7 years, approximately 20% of those in the premature group had ADHD as compared to about 10% of the other group.Many of the premature children who had ADHD also had additional cognitive, neurological, or academic disabilities (e.g., dyslexia and developmental language disorders).

The rapid advances in medical technology have greatly increased the number of children who survive premature birth. However, as more premature babies survive, there is growing evidence that suggests that there are long term repercussions: many of these children—especially the very small ones—develop major neurological problems. These children appear to be at special risk for ADHD because their frontostriatal circuitry is particularly vulnerable to injury owing to its immaturity at the time of birth. It is wise to carefully monitor children who are born premature.