Admission to a neonatal intensive care unit as a predictor of long-term health: a 12-year follow-up.

Long-term physical, emotional, and social health of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) graduates was assessed. Twelve-year follow-up interviews were conducted with 253 (86.3%) mothers from a cohort interviewed after their child's birth. One hundred and sixteen children had been admitted to the NICU and 137 to the normal neonatal nursery (NNN) at a tertiary care hospital (1978 to 1980). NICU boys have more chronic physical health problems and have been hospitalized more often than NNN boys. A larger proportion of NICU boys have a physical impairment. NICU girls have lower social competence, social support, and self-esteem than NNN girls, and the impact of NICU admission on these outcomes was significantly greater for girls than boys. Long-term follow-ups should not be limited to very low birth weight infants. NICU admission could be a simple flag for primary care providers to identify children at risk for problems in adolescence, especially psychosocial problems among girls. Physical and emotional health should continue to be monitored into adolescence for all NICU graduates.