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A recent study showed that being born early is associated with a higher risk of hospitalization in infancy than full-term birth.
Existing evidence suggests that the risk of disease associated with preterm birth decreases as babies grow, but it is unclear at what age this begins to occur and how these changes vary by gestational week of age at birth.
For the study, published in the journal “The BMJ”, a team of British researchers set out to examine the association between gestational age at birth and hospital admissions at age 10 and how admission rates change during childhood .
Their findings are based on data from more than one million babies born in NHS hospitals in England between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2006.
The children were monitored from birth until March 31, 2015 (an average of 9.2 years per child), during which time the researchers analyzed the number of hospital admissions.
Gestational age at birth was analyzed in weeks, ranging from less than 28 to 42 weeks.
Over 1.3 million hospital admissions occurred during the study period, of which 8,31,729 (63%) were emergency admissions. Just over half (5,25,039) of the children were hospitalized at least once during the study period.
After taking into account other potentially influential risk factors, such as the mother’s age, marital status and level of social deprivation, the child’s gender, ethnicity, and month of birth, the researchers found that hospitalizations in hospital during infancy were strongly associated with gestational age at birth. .
The infancy hospitalization rate in infants born at 40 weeks was 28 per 100 person-years – this figure was about six times higher in babies born extremely prematurely (less than 28 weeks).
When the babies were between the ages of 7 and 10, the hospital admission rate in babies born at 40 weeks was seven per 100 person-years – this figure was about three times higher in babies born at less than 28 weeks.
But babies born a few weeks earlier also had higher admission rates.
Birth at 37, 38, and 39 weeks of gestation was associated with a difference in the admission rate of 19, nine, and three hospitalizations per 100 person-years in infancy, respectively, compared to those born at 40 weeks.
The risk of hospitalization associated with gestational age decreased over time, particularly after two years. However, an excess risk remained until the age of 10, even for babies born at 38 and 39 weeks of gestation.
“Infections have been the leading cause of excess hospital admissions at all ages, but particularly in childhood. Respiratory and gastrointestinal conditions also accounted for a large percentage of hospitalizations during the first two years of life, “the study authors wrote.
(With input from agencies)
Published: November 26, 2020 4:51 pm
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