Romantic and sexual relationships of young adults born very preterm: An individual participant data meta-analysis

Marina Mendonça¹, Yanyan Ni^{1

2}, Nicole Baumann^{1

3

4}, Brian A Darlow⁵, John Horwood⁶, Lex W Doyle^{7

8

9

10}, Jeanie L Y Cheong^{7

8

9

10}, Peter J Anderson⁴, Peter Bartmann¹¹, Neil Marlow¹², Samantha Johnson³, Eero Kajantie^{13

14

15

16}, Petteri Hovi^{13

16}, Chiara Nosarti^{17

18}, Marit S Indredavik¹⁵, Kari Anne I Evensen^{15

19

20}, Katri Räikkönen^{21

22}, Kati Heinonen^{21

23}, Sylvia van der Pal²⁴, Lianne J Woodward²⁵, Sarah Harris⁵, Robert Eves^{1

26}, Dieter Wolke^{1

27}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
² School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
³ Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Leicester, George Davies Centre, Leicester, UK.
⁴ Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁵ Department of Paediatrics, University of Otago at Christchurch, Christchurch, New Zealand.
⁶ Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
⁷ Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
⁸ Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
⁹ Neonatal Services, Royal Women's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
¹⁰ Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
¹¹ Department of Neonatology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
¹² UCL Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Institute for Women's Health, University College London, London, UK.
¹³ Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
¹⁴ Clinical Medicine Research Unit, MRC Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
¹⁵ Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
¹⁶ Children's Hospital, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
¹⁷ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
¹⁸ Centre for the Developing Brain, Department of Perinatal Imaging and Health, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, St Thomas' Hospital, London, UK.
¹⁹ Children's Clinic, St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
²⁰ Department of Rehabilitation Science and Health Technology, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway.
²¹ Department of Psychology and Logopedics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
²² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, HUS Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
²³ Welfare Sciences/Psychology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
²⁴ Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, Leiden, The Netherlands.
²⁵ Faculty of Health, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
²⁶ Fakultät für Psychologie und Sportwissenschaft, Universität Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany.
²⁷ Division of Health Sciences, Warwick Medical School, Coventry, UK.

PMID: 39252537
DOI: 10.1111/apa.17397

Meta-Analysis

Romantic and sexual relationships of young adults born very preterm: An individual participant data meta-analysis

Marina Mendonça et al. Acta Paediatr. 2024 Dec.

. 2024 Dec;113(12):2513-2525.

doi: 10.1111/apa.17397. Epub 2024 Sep 10.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
² School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
³ Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Leicester, George Davies Centre, Leicester, UK.
⁴ Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁵ Department of Paediatrics, University of Otago at Christchurch, Christchurch, New Zealand.
⁶ Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
⁷ Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
⁸ Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
⁹ Neonatal Services, Royal Women's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
¹⁰ Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
¹¹ Department of Neonatology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
¹² UCL Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Institute for Women's Health, University College London, London, UK.
¹³ Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
¹⁴ Clinical Medicine Research Unit, MRC Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
¹⁵ Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
¹⁶ Children's Hospital, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
¹⁷ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
¹⁸ Centre for the Developing Brain, Department of Perinatal Imaging and Health, School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences, St Thomas' Hospital, London, UK.
¹⁹ Children's Clinic, St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.
²⁰ Department of Rehabilitation Science and Health Technology, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway.
²¹ Department of Psychology and Logopedics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
²² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, HUS Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
²³ Welfare Sciences/Psychology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
²⁴ Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, Leiden, The Netherlands.
²⁵ Faculty of Health, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
²⁶ Fakultät für Psychologie und Sportwissenschaft, Universität Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany.
²⁷ Division of Health Sciences, Warwick Medical School, Coventry, UK.

PMID: 39252537
DOI: 10.1111/apa.17397

Abstract

Aim: To compare romantic and sexual relationships between adults born very preterm (VP; <32 weeks of gestation) or with very low birth weight (VLBW; <1500 g) and at term, and to evaluate potential biological and environmental explanatory factors among VP/VLBW participants.

Methods: This individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis included longitudinal studies assessing romantic and sexual relationships in adults (mean sample age ≥ 18 years) born VP/VLBW compared with term-born controls. Following PRISMA-IPD guidelines, 11 of the 13 identified cohorts provided IPD from 1606 VP/VLBW adults and 1659 term-born controls. IPD meta-analyses were performed using one-stage approach.

Results: Individuals born VP/VLBW were less likely to be in a romantic relationship (OR 0.49; 95% CI 0.31-0.76), to be married/cohabiting (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.53-0.92), or to have had sexual intercourse (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.09-0.36) than term-born adults. If sexually active, VP/VLBW participants were more likely to experience their first sexual intercourse after the age of 18 years (OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.24-3.01) than term-born adults. Among VP/VLBW adults, males, and those with neurosensory impairment were least likely to experience romantic relationships.

Conclusions: These findings reflect less optimal social functioning and may have implications for socioeconomic and health outcomes of adults born VP/VLBW.

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References

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Romantic and sexual relationships of young adults born very preterm: An individual participant data meta-analysis

Affiliations

Romantic and sexual relationships of young adults born very preterm: An individual participant data meta-analysis

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

References

REFERENCES

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources