title: Independent living and romantic relations among young adults born preterm.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Young adults born preterm at very low birth weight start families later. Whether less severe immaturity affects adult social outcomes is poorly known.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study "Preterm birth and early life programming of adult health and disease" (ESTER, 2009-2011) identified adults born early preterm (<34 weeks' gestation, N = 149), late preterm (≥ 34 to <37 weeks' gestation, N = 248), and at term (≥ 37 weeks' gestation, N = 356) from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 and the Finnish Medical Birth Register (1987-1989), with perinatal data, medical and family history, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle from routine visits or questionnaires. Cox, logistic, and ordinal regressions estimated the hazard and odds ratios (HR and OR) with 95% confidence intervals of outcomes related to preterm birth.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with term-born subjects, those born early and late preterm were less likely to have cohabited with a romantic partner (HR, 0.79; [0.61-1.03] and HR, 0.80; [0.65-0.99], respectively) or experienced sexual intercourse (HR, 0.83; [0.66-1.05] and HR, 0.76; [0.63-0.92], respectively) by young adulthood. They also had higher odds of obtaining a 1-point lower score in a visual analog scale of self-perceived sexual attractiveness (OR, 1.45; [1.09-1.98] and OR, 1.44; [1.06-1.97] for early and late preterm birth, respectively). No difference was observed in the likelihood of departing from childhood home and number of individuals having their own families.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Young adults born preterm experience more social challenges, which may affect their romantic relationships and future family planning.
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Prevention Unit, Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Medical Research Center, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; tuija.mannisto@thl.fi.
authors.forename: Tuija
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Männistö
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Medical Research Center, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland;
authors.forename: Marja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vääräsmäki
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Prevention Unit, Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Pediatrics and Adolescence, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland; Institute of Health Sciences and Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland;
authors.forename: Marika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sipola-Leppänen
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Prevention Unit, Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland; Institute of Health Sciences and Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland;
authors.forename: Marjaana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tikanmäki
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Prevention Unit, Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland;
authors.forename: Hanna-Maria
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Matinolli
authors.affiliation: Institute of Behavioral Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland;
authors.forename: Anu-Katriina
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Pesonen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Behavioral Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland;
authors.forename: Katri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Räikkönen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Sciences and Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, MRC Health Protection Agency (HPA) Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom; Department of Children, Young People and Families, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Oulu, Finland; Unit of Primary Care, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland; and.
authors.forename: Marjo-Riitta
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Järvelin
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Prevention Unit, Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland; Children's Hospital, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Petteri
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hovi
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Prevention Unit, Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Medical Research Center, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland; Children's Hospital, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Eero
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kajantie
mesh_terms: D001504:Beauty; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003075:Coitus / Q000523:psychology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight / Q000523:psychology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008149:Love; D008297:Male; D012649:Self Concept; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology*; D012917:Social Adjustment; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: intercourse; premature birth; reproduction