Published in the journal Pediatrics, the study also found that babies with extremely low birth weight whose mum had a full course of steroids before giving birth were at an even higher risk.
Talking about the study, lead author of the study and professor of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences from the Michale G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster, Dr. Ryan Van Lieshout, said: "Importantly, we have identified psychiatric risks that may develop for extremely low birth weight survivors as they become adults, and this understanding will help us better predict, detect and treat mental disorders in this population."
The research which studied 84 adults who were born weighting less than two pounds and two ounces, and 90 who were born at normal weight found that those 84 were two and a half times more likely to develop depression, anxiety or ADHD.
However, while the chances are four and a half times higher when the mum receives a full course of life-saving steroids before birth as part of their treatment, the study also found that these babies were less likely to suffer from an alcohol or substance abuse disorder, although this is not the case when the mum is given steroids.
