New research suggests that the adult IQ of babies who were born prematurely or with a very low birth weight can be predicted when they are a toddler.

Researchers at the University of Warwick found that the IQ of adults born very premature can be predicted when they are 2 years old. The IQ of adults who were born full-term couldn't be accurately predicted till the age of six.

"We believe this is the first time a research paper has looked into the prediction of the IQ of adults over the age of 26 who were born very premature or with very low birth weight," Professor Dieter Wolke, who led the study, said in a statement. "The results indicate that assessing two year olds who were born very preterm or very underweight and will provide a reasonably good prediction to what their adult IQ will be."

For the study, researchers followed nearly 500 children from birth into adulthood who were born between 1985 and 1986. They completed developmental and intelligence tests (IQ) at five and 20 months and at four, six, eight and 26 years of age. Two-hundred-and-sixty babies born either very premature (before 32 weeks) or with very low birth weight (fewer than 1.5kgs) were compared with 229 babies who born full-term.

"Some children born very premature or with very low birth weight score low on cognitive tests but beat the odds and improve into adulthood," Wolke said. "However many with persistent problems can be detected in the second year of life. Early identification of cognitive problems in these children may help to plan specialized therapeutic and educational interventions to help them and their families."

The findings are detailed in the journal Pediatrics.