Premature babies prone to disordersChildren born extremely prematurely are four times more likely to have emotional problems or behavioural disorders later in life than their peers, according to a study published today.
Research into 200 six year olds born below 26 weeks showed 30.6 per cent were hyperactive - compared with 8.8 per cent of a "control" group of their peers - with 33.3 per cent displaying attention problems, compared with 6.8 per cent of their contemporaries.
The study was led by the University of Warwick department of psychology and Warwick Medical School.
The research highlighted a difference between boys and girls in the pre-term group.
Boys born extremely prematurely showed a higher degree of behaviour problems such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with girls having more "internalising" disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Painkillers affect cancer screening
Taking a popular class of pain relievers that includes aspirin and ibuprofen lowers the levels of a protein in a man's blood that doctors use to screen for prostate cancer, US researchers have said.
But the researchers said it was unclear whether this means these men have a lower risk for developing prostate cancer or these medications may make it harder to detect prostate tumours with a common screening blood test.
The study was conducted at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.