Self‐reported mental health and cortisol activity at 27‐28 years of age in individuals born with very low birthweight

AIM: To assess mental health outcomes of very low birthweight (VLBW, <1500 g) subjects to adulthood and to examine salivary cortisol and hair cortisol levels and their relation to birth characteristics and mental health. METHODS: A Swedish regional cohort of 56 VLBW subjects and 55 full‐term controls were assessed at the ages 27‐28 with adult self‐reported scales and the mean of 2 days diurnal salivary cortisol and hair cortisol. The cohorts had been assessed at 15 years of age with youth self‐reported scales. RESULTS: There were no differences between the groups in youth self‐reported scales and adult self‐reported scores. The 24 participating VLBW girls scored lower on youth self‐reported scales externalising and total problem scores than the control girls. In adulthood, the 21 participating VLBW women had significantly higher morning concentrations of salivary cortisol than control women, P = .014. No significant associations were found between cortisol concentrations and adult self‐reported scales internalising, externalising and total scores. CONCLUSION: Self‐reported mental health in VLBW subjects was comparable with normal birthweight controls indicating a satisfying transition from adolescence to adulthood. VLBW females had higher morning salivary cortisol concentrations, suggesting a gender difference. We found no correlations between cortisol and mental health.