Summary: A large -scale European study did not find evidence that having a premature brother born with a brother drives more behavioral problems in children born to term. The researchers analyzed data from more than 65,000 children and did not find significant differences in behavior among children with premature verse brothers.
However, children without brothers showed higher levels of internalization and outsourcing behaviors. These findings challenge the assumptions on the behavioral impact of premature birth on the brothers and emphasize the importance of greater research in family structure and mental health.
Key facts:
There is no behavior risk: children with premature -born brothers show no more behavioral problems than classmates with only term born. Only children at risk: higher levels of behavioral difficulties in children without siblings were observed. Triumph data analysis: The study used used a safe data field platform to analyze data from 65,711 children in four countries.
Source: University of Oulu
A new study published in Mental Health has explored whether to have a premature brother born (before 37 weeks of gestation) affects the behavior of children born to term.
In a study by the University of Oulu, researchers found no evidence that premature -born brothers experience more behavioral problems than those with only brothers born to term.
However, children without brothers showed higher levels of behavioral difficulties.
The study analyzed data of 65,711 children 14 years old or less, using information on birth cohorts in Denmark, Norway, Italy and the Netherlands. The children were divided into three groups: those with at least one premature -born brother, those with only brothers born to term and those without brothers.
The researchers evaluated internalization behaviors, such as anxiety, depression and stress, and externalization behaviors, such as impulsivity, aggression and rupture of the rules. Behavior data was collected using parental reports through the Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire and the child behavior verification list.
The results showed that children with premature -born brothers did not differ significantly in behavioral results compared to those with only term -born brothers. In contrast, children without brothers had higher internalization and outsourcing scores.
While the study did not identify a risk of behavior associated with having a premature -born brother, the need for more research stands out. The authors point out that the mental health of the brothers and the largest sample sizes for specific subgroups should be included in future longitudinal studies.
Children with premature -born brothers remain a little studied group that could have a higher risk of mental health challenges.
Researchers emphasize that continuous research could provide essential evidence for directed support, especially if future studies reveal specific vulnerabilities among original children’s brothers.
The study analyzed all data using DataShield, an analysis platform that allows remote access to the data and aims to facilitate the exchange of data between the institutions, while guaranteeing the total protection of data.
The investigation was carried out as part of the life cycle project funded by the European Union, but it was a greater collaboration that involved projects such as Longitools and Athlete, part of the European Network of Human Exhibition.
The LIFFECLE project created the Cohort Network for EU children (EUCCN), which brings together data from 17 cohorts in Europe and Australia, and appears in the largest European health research data and the catalog of samples developed in the other projects.
About this neurod and behavior development news
Author: Meri Rova
Source: University of Oulu
Contact: Meri Rova – Universidad de Oulu
Image: The image is accredited to Neuroscience News
Original research: open access.
“Internalization and outsourcing behavior in brothers of premature children” by Wnurinham Silva et al. PLOS Mental Health
Abstract
Internalization and outdoor behavior in brothers of premature children
The family environment in which children grow is associated with the development of their behavior. It has been proposed that changes in family dynamics, associated with a premature -born child, can influence the health of the brothers.
We tried the hypothesis that children born in terms (≤ 14 years of age) with younger brothers born in prizes have a greater risk of having greater problems of internalization and outdoor behavior than children born in terms with brothers born in terms.
We also compare scores with children without brothers. We use harmonized data of four European birth cohorts.
We group 65,711 boys born in terms (49% girls) in the four cohorts as follows: Risk group (with younger premature brothers; n = 427), reference group (with only term of term; n = 12,371) and only children’s group (without brothers; n = 52,913).
We investigate whether the standardized scores of internalization and outsourcing of children born in the term differ according to the group.
The scores come from strengths and complete difficulties of the parents to the questionnaire or list of verification of child behavior.
Risk scores and only children groups were compared to the reference group. The analyzes were carried out in three age groups: ≤ 4, 5–10 and 11-14 years of age.
We carry out a data meta -analysis of individual participants of two stages and do not find evidence of differences in internalization or externalization scores between the risk and the reference groups within any of the age groups.
On the contrary, the internalization and outsourcing scores of the only children participants were higher than the reference group (internalization- ≤ 4 years: average difference (MD) = 0.06 (95%CI = 0.03.0.08); 5–10 years: MD = 0.12 (-0.01.0.25); 11–14 years: MD = 0.07 (0.03.03.0.12); 0.06 (0.03.0.08);
We do not find evidence to support that having a premature brother born in a younger brother is a risk factor to increase internalization or outsourcing behavior.
However, we observe higher internalization and outsourcing scores in children without brothers compared to those with brothers born in terms.
