A new study published in the December issue of Biological
Psychiatry finds people who had a low birth weight are more
likely to experience depression and anxiety later in life.
"We found that even people who had just mild or moderate
symptoms of depression or anxiety over their life course were
smaller babies than those who had better mental health," said lead
author Ian Colman of the University of Alberta in Canada.
The study suggests that as birth weight progressively decreases,
it's more likely that an individual will suffer from mood disorders
later in life.
The investigators used data from a wide-range survey that
tracked more than 4,600 people born in Canada's Great Britain in
1946 for symptoms of anxiety and depression over a 40-year
period.
The results support the theory that conditions in the womb do
indeed have an effect on our future development.
"The idea that things that are happening in the womb might
predict your health much later on in life is absolutely
fascinating. And the public health implications of that are huge,"
said Colman.
"I have been asked by many people what the 'take-home message'
of this study is, and I would say that, in the simplest terms, it
is 'We should take better care of pregnant women.' The kind of
stress that pregnant mothers are under has a significant long-term
effect on the developing fetus." When a mother is really stressed,
blood flow to the uterus is restricted and the fetus gets fewer
nutrients, which tends to lead to lower birth weight, said the
researchers.
(Agencies via Xinhua News Agency December 5, 2007)