Risk-Taking Behavior of Adolescents and Young Adults Born Preterm

Young adult outcomes following premature birth: A Western Australian experience

BACKGROUND

Childhood outcomes following preterm birth are widely published, however long-term adult outcomes are less well described. We aimed to determine the quality of life and burden of co-morbidities experienced by preterm-born young adults in Western Australia.

METHODS

A retrospective observational study was conducted. Participants born at 23-33 weeks gestation cared for at King Edward Memorial Hospital during 1990 and 1991 were recruited from a historical birth cohort. Participants completed general, medical and reproductive health questionnaires. Results were compared with contemporaneous cohort data and/or population statistics.

RESULTS

Questionnaires were received from 73 young adults aged 28 to 30 years. The majority of respondents completed high school (94.5 %), were employed fulltime (74.0 %) and had close friends and family relationships. Almost all the participants considered their health to be good (94.0 %) and participated in light exercise (90.0 %). Increased hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, asthma, neuropsychiatric conditions and visual impairment were reported. Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) scoring identified increased mild anxiety. Increased consultation with healthcare workers and use of prescription medications were reported.

CONCLUSION

The group of preterm-born adults surveyed reported a good quality of life, supportive interpersonal relationships and they provided significant contributions to society. They did report increased medical and psychological conditions than the general population.

Association between antenatal corticosteroids and risk of serious infection in children: nationwide cohort study

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the associations between exposure to antenatal corticosteroids and serious infection in children during the first three, six, and 12 months of life.

DESIGN

Nationwide cohort study.

SETTING

National Health Insurance Research Database, Birth Reporting Database, and Maternal and Child Health Database, 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2019, to identify all pregnant individuals and their offspring in Taiwan.

PARTICIPANTS

1 960 545 pairs of pregnant individuals and their singleton offspring. 45 232 children were exposed and 1 915 313 were not exposed to antenatal corticosteroids.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Incidence rates were estimated for overall serious infection, sepsis, pneumonia, acute gastroenteritis, pyelonephritis, meningitis or encephalitis, cellulitis or soft tissue infection, septic arthritis or osteomyelitis, and endocarditis during the first three, six, and 12 months of life in children exposed versus those not exposed to antenatal corticosteroids. Cox proportional hazards models were performed to quantify adjusted hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals for each study outcome.

RESULTS

The study cohort was 1 960 545 singleton children: 45 232 children were exposed to one course of antenatal corticosteroids and 1 915 313 children were not exposed to antenatal corticosteroids. The adjusted hazard ratios for overall serious infection, sepsis, pneumonia, and acute gastroenteritis among children exposed to antenatal corticosteroids were significantly higher than those not exposed to antenatal corticosteroids during the first six months of life (adjusted hazard ratio 1.32, 95% confidence interval 1.18 to 1.47, P<0.001, for overall serious infection; 1.74, 1.16 to 2.61, P=0.01, for sepsis; 1.39, 1.17 to 1.65, P<0.001, for pneumonia; and 1.35, 1.10 to 1.65, P<0.001, for acute gastroenteritis).Similarly, the adjusted hazard ratios for overall serious infection (P<0.001), sepsis (P=0.02), pneumonia (P<0.001), and acute gastroenteritis (P<0.001) were significantly higher from birth to 12 months of life. In the sibling matched cohort, the results were comparable with those observed in the whole cohort, with a significantly increased risk of sepsis in the first six (P=0.01) and 12 (P=0.04) months of life.

CONCLUSIONS

This nationwide cohort study found that children exposed to one course of antenatal corticosteroids were significantly more likely to have an increased risk of serious infection during the first 12 months of life. These findings suggest that before starting treatment, the long term risks of rare but serious infection associated with antenatal corticosteroids should be carefully weighed against the benefits in the perinatal period.

Association of Preterm Birth and Low Birthweight with Bone Fractures during Childhood

Preterm birth and low birthweight have been associated with increased fracture risk in children. Our aim was to analyze bone fractures during childhood in preterm, and low-birthweight newborns compared to full-term and normal-birthweight newborns. We conducted a nationwide register-based cohort study in Finland from 1998 to 2017 and utilized the Medical Birth Register and Care Register for Health Care. All newborns alive 28 days after birth were included, and data on all fracture visits in specialized healthcare units were gathered. Incidences per 100,000 person-years with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated, and comparisons were made by incidence rate ratios (IRRs). Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to analyze the timing of fractures during childhood (0-20 years). We included a total of 997,468 newborns and 95,869 fractures; the mean follow-up was 10.0 years, and the overall incidence of fractures was 963 per 100,000 person-years. Very preterm (<32 gestational weeks) newborns had 23% lower fracture incidence than term newborns (IRR 0.77; CI: 0.70-0.85). Preterm newborns (32 to 36 gestational weeks) had a fracture rate (IRR 0.98; CI: 0.95-1.01) similar to that of term newborns. Birthweight showed a linear increase in the fracture rates as newborns with birthweight less than 1000 g had the lowest fracture incidence of 773 per 100,000 person-years and the highest incidence (966 per 100,000 person-years) was among newborns with birthweight 2500 g or more. Children born very preterm or with extremely low birthweight have in general a lower fracture incidence during childhood compared to children born full term and with normal birthweight. These findings possibly reflect, in addition to improvements of neonatal intensive care and early nutrition, the fact that childhood fracture incidences are more dependent on issues other than early life events. © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).