Preemies face risk of disability in adulthood

Preterm birth confers a considerable risk for long-term impairment, according to study published in the journal Pediatrics this month.

"Increasing numbers of children born preterm survive into adulthood as a consequence of progress in prenatal and neonatal care," note Dr. Anders Hjern, of the National Board of Health and Welfare, Stockholm, Sweden, and colleagues.

The researchers examined the effect of having been born preterm on rates of disability and job success as young adults in a Swedish national cohort of 522,310 infants born between 1973 and 1979.

Of the entire cohort, 431,656 were born at term (39 to 41 weeks' gestational age), 68,541 were born slightly preterm (37 to 38 weeks' gestational age), 19,166 were born moderately preterm (33 to 36 weeks' gestational age), and 2,947 were born very preterm (24 to 32 weeks' gestational age).

Hjern's team noted a stepwise increase in disability in young adulthood with increasing degree of preterm birth.

The relative risk of having at least one disability was 3.7 times higher for those born very preterm, relative to those born at term. The risk of having at least one disability was 51 percent and 23 percent higher, respectively, for those born moderately and slightly preterm.

The authors also noticed that adults who were born preterm were more likely than those born at term to live with their parents. Being born preterm was also associated with a lower likelihood of completing a university education and a lower net salary in a stepwise fashion.

Nonetheless, Hjern and colleagues point out, "The large majority of even the most immature children seemed to live a productive and self-supported life in early adulthood."

However, because of the societal costs of impairment related to preterm birth, "there are strong economic incentives for secondary prevention of disability associated with preterm birth," they conclude.

source : news.yahoo.com