Children who are younger than their classmates are at significantly higher risk for emotional and behavioral problems and psychiatric diagnoses, according to an article in the August 30th issue of the British Medical Journal.

The authors surveyed over 10,000 school children in 3 regions of Great Britain through use of reports from teachers, parents, and the pupils themselves. The questions probed aspects of the children's emotions, individual behavior, activity levels, peer relationships, and social behavior. The answers were used to generate a measure of mental health.

In 2 regions, the oldest children in the school year are born in September and the youngest in August. Comparison of their mental health scores showed that children born in the summer months were much more likely to have evidence of psychiatric disorders.

In the third region, the oldest children in a school year are born in March and the youngest in February. Season of birth did not have any correlation with prevalence of psychiatric disorder. Similar to the trend seen in the other 2 regions, a child’s age compared with their peers’ ages was the major risk factor for psychiatric illness.

The researchers concluded that teachers, parents, and physicians should be aware of the age differences between a child and his or her classmates and allow a child to be with children close in age in the school setting wherever possible.