Are Children of Moderately Low Birth Weight at Increased Risk for Poor Health?
OBJECTIVE. The goal was to examine whether moderately low birth weight children were at greater risk for health problems than normal birth weight children in a nationally representative sample of US children. METHODS. Data were analyzed for 7817 children, 0 to 12 years of age, from the sample child file of the 2002 National Health Interview Survey. Logistic regressions were estimated to examine whether morbidity rates were higher among moderately low birth weight children than among normal birth weight children and to control for covariates. Health was measured as having a special health care need, having a chronic condition, being hospitalized in the past year, having a learning disability, attention-deficit disorder/attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or other behavioral disorders, having minor health conditions, and having acute illnesses. RESULTS. With control for other confounders, moderately low birth weight children were significantly more likely than normal birth weight c
