Extremely low birthweight (1000g or less) infants born in the 1980s in the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, and the USA (Lancet2001;357:1641–3) had similar behaviour problems at age 8–10 years. They had higher total problem scores than normal birthweight controls (significant only in the European countries) but their difficulties were mainly with attention, thought, and social interaction. It is suggested that monitoring of these children might lead to early detection and possibly to amelioration of the difficulties.

In a rural community in upstate New York in the 4 year period 1984–87, a total of 214 people developed chronic fatigue syndrome (Pediatrics2001;107:994–8). Forty-six of them were children or adolescents and 35 of these were followed up for an average of 13 years. At the end of follow up, 13 reported that they were completely recovered, 15 that they were well but not completely recovered, 4 that they were chronically ill, and 3 that they were worse than at the start of follow up. Whether the prognosis is the same for sporadic cases is not known.

Eighty-five children in North Carolina (Pediatrics2001;107:1037–42) were followed up between the ages of 6 months and 4 years. On average they had bilateral or unilateral otitis media with effusion (OME) 30% of the time and hearing loss 20% of …