Low birthweight babies--outcome at 13 years.

The study was conducted to compare growth status, blood pressure, self esteem and intelligence of 200 low birthweight (LBW) and 224 normal birthweight (NBW) adolescents at 13 years of age. Intelligence scores at or below the 25th percentile (low performance) were observed among 51.4% LBW and 41.7% NBW adolescents (<0.05). Statistically significant lower scores for self esteem (mean difference 4.31, 95% CI 1.91-6.71) were observed among LBW adolescents. Height, weight and body mass index (BMI) were lower among all LBW adolescents and the difference reached statistical significance for weight and BMI among LBW adolescent girls.