Previous studies have suggested that people born
preterm have increased rates of eating disorders (ED). However, a recent
study suggested lower levels of ED-related symptoms in the extreme
group of adults born preterm with very low birth weight (<1,500 g).
We examined symptoms related to EDs in adults born early (<34 weeks
of gestational age) or late (34 to <37 weeks of gestational age)
preterm.

We studied young adults (mean age 24.1
years) from two birth cohorts: ESTER (Northern Finland 1985-1989) and
AYLS (Uusimaa, Finland, 1985-1986). Of the participants, 185 were born
early preterm, 348 late preterm, and 637 were term-born controls
(N = 1,170). They completed three subscales of the Eating Disorder
Inventory (EDI)-2, including Drive for Thinness (DT), Body
Dissatisfaction (BD), and Bulimia (B). Group differences were examined
by linear regression.

Young women born early
preterm scored 4.1 points (95% CI -8.0, -0.2, P =.04) lower in summed
EDI subscale scores than women born at term, when adjusted for age and
cohort. This difference was observed also in DT and BD but not for B
subscales. The differences persisted after adjustments for current, pre-
and neonatal characteristics. We did not observe differences in EDI
scores among men or women born late preterm when compared to controls.