Neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia - a vulnerability factor for mental disorder?

Objective: Various studies have shown an association between obstetric complications and psychiatric illness. There is a lack of specific aetiological explanations. A possible mechanism contributing to cerebral vulnerability is neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia (NHB). Method: A total of 509 children with NHB (bilirubin >15 mg %) were compared with the same number of controls (matched for gender, place of residence, and date and place of birth) with respect to in-patient psychiatric care during 1971-1993. Results: A significantly greater number of individuals in the NHB group received in-patient psychiatric care than in the control group (OR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.1-5.5). After exclusion of infants with associated obstetric risk factors, the significantly increased risk for in-patient psychiatric care still remained among the children with NHB (OR, 13.4; 95% CI, 1.6-110.1). Conclusion: NHB could be a factor underlying subsequent development of mental ill-health, but larger samples are needed to obtain a more reliable assessment.