Does intrauterine growth restriction affect quality of life in adulthood?
OBJECTIVE
To compare health-related quality of life in 50-year-old adults who were born at term (> or =37 to 42 weeks' gestation) with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR; birth weight <10th centile) and a group born at term without IUGR (> or =10th centile).


METHODS
Case control study.


METHODS
A large regional maternity hospital in Northern Ireland.


METHODS
235 adults who were born between 1954 and 1956 in the Royal Maternity Hospital, Belfast. 111 subjects born with IUGR and 124 controls with normal birth weight for gestation were compared.


METHODS
Health-related quality of life in adulthood was assessed using the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36).


RESULTS
The two groups reported similar health-related quality of life on each of the eight dimensions of the SF-36 and there were no significant differences between them. Adjusting for potential confounding variables did not alter this conclusion.


CONCLUSIONS
The similarity of SF-36 scores indicated that those born with IUGR did not perceive this to adversely influence health-related quality of life at 50 years of age compared with those with normal birth weight.
Spence
Dale
D
Nursing and Midwifery Research Unit, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. d.spence@qub.ac.uk
Alderdice
Fiona A
FA
Stewart
Moira C
MC
Halliday
Henry L
HL
Bell
Angela H
AH
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009660:Northern Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires