Why Babies with Low Birthweight More Likely to Have Autism

Low Weight Babies At Risk For Autism

Babies that weigh less than 4.4 pounds at birth, including those born
preterm, may be as much as five times more likely to have autism as children
born at a normal weight, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.

Researchers followed 862 children from birth to young adulthood. The babies were born between September 1984 and July 1987 in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties in New Jersey and weighed no more than 4.4 pounds each.

The study showed that about 5 percent of the children in the study were diagnosed with autism, whereas about 1 percent of the general population is diagnosed with the disorder.