Birth Weight and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Across Diagnostic Categories: A Registry-Based Case-Control Study in Clinically Ascertained Samples.

Eden Nordvold Barak, Knut K Kolskår, Christine Dahl, Dag Alnæs, Ole A Andreassen, Terje Nærland, Ida E Sønderby, Christian K Tamnes, Lars T Westlye

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Article in Child psychiatry and human development, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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9 authors.

Eden Nordvold BarakDepartment of Psychology, University of Oslo, 1094 Blindern, Oslo, 0317, Norway. e.n.barak@psykologi.uio.no.

Knut K KolskårDepartment of Rare Disorders, National Centre for Rare Disorders, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Christine DahlK.G. Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

Dag AlnæsDepartment of Psychology, University of Oslo, 1094 Blindern, Oslo, 0317, Norway.

Ole A AndreassenK.G. Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

Terje NærlandK.G. Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

Ida E SønderbyK.G. Jebsen Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

Christian K TamnesPROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

Lars T WestlyeDepartment of Psychology, University of Oslo, 1094 Blindern, Oslo, 0317, Norway.

Funding

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6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Increasing prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) is a growing public health concern. Identifying early risk markers may facilitate earlier intervention and reduce long-term burden. Although birth weight has been widely studied in relation to NDDs, evidence from clinically ascertained samples with single and overlapping diagnoses remains limited. In this case-control study, we compared birth weight between clinically referred individuals with intellectual disability (ID), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from the Norwegian BUPgen registry (n = 720) and a population-based sample from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) (n = 98,716). Perinatal data were obtained through linkage to the Medical Birth Registry of Norway. Associations were examined using logistic regression adjusted for gestational age, sex, and parental age. Additional analyses assessed interactions by sex and parental age, and birth weight categories. For each 100 g decrease in birth weight, odds significantly increased for the groups any NDD (one or more NDD diagnoses; OR = 1.04) and multiple diagnoses (two or more co-occurring NDDs; OR = 1.07). In diagnosis specific analyses, odds significantly increased for ID (OR = 1.15) and ASD (OR = 1.03). No interactions were observed. In categorical analyses, low birth weight was associated with higher odds of ID (OR = 8.27, p < 0.001), multiple diagnoses (OR = 4.96, p < 0.001), and any NDD (OR = 2.11, p = 0.002). No associations were observed for high birth weight. These findings support low birth weight as an early marker of neurodevelopmental vulnerability across NDD outcomes.

Indexed as

ADHDAutism spectrum disorderBirth weightCase-control studyIntellectual disabilityNeurodevelopmental disordersPerinatal factors

Identifiers

PMID42645711

DOI10.1542/peds.112.3.607

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