Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology最新文献

Background: Maternal preeclampsia is associated with both congenital heart defects and changes in left ventricular structure and function in the offspring. Whether preeclampsia and gestational hypertension also affect the offspring's cardiac conduction system is unknown.

Objectives: This study assesses whether infants exposed to maternal hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs) exhibit changes in their electrocardiogram (ECG) compared with infants unexposed to HDPs.

Methods: This population-based cohort study included newborns from the Copenhagen Baby Heart Study who had an ECG performed within 30 days of birth and had available obstetric information. ECG parameters of newborns exposed to maternal HDPs were compared with those of unexposed newborns using linear regression.

Results: Our study cohort included 11,826 newborns, including 441 exposed to maternal preeclampsia and 320 exposed to gestational hypertension. Infants exposed to preeclampsia had prolonged QRS durations (adjusted mean difference 0.6 ms, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.04, 1.16) and lower maximum amplitudes of the R-wave in V1 (adjusted mean difference, linear scale 0.95, 95% CI 0.90, 1.00), compared with unexposed infants. Exposure to maternal preeclampsia was not associated with changes in other ECG parameters. Exposure to gestational hypertension was associated with increased QT interval durations (QT_c Bazett, adjusted mean difference 2.48 ms, 95% CI -0.23, 5.20; QT_c Fridericia, adjusted mean difference 2.32 ms, 95% CI -0.19, 4.83).

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the newborn cardiac conduction system is affected by exposure to maternal preeclampsia. This could reflect the previously described thickening of the left ventricular myocardium in infants exposed to preeclampsia.

Background: Previous evidence on the relation between early head circumference (HC) growth and behavioural outcomes in preschoolers has been inconsistent.

Objective: We aimed to investigate whether HC growth from birth to 5 years of age was related to internalising or externalising behavioural problems at 5 years of age in a sex-specific manner.

Methods: Among 303 girls and 318 boys from the MINA-Brazil birth cohort, we examined the associations between changes in HC from birth to 5 years of age and internalising and externalising behaviour problem scores at 5 years according to the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for parents. HC values were transformed into sex- and age-specific z-scores (HCZ) using World Health Organisation standards, and the differences between values at 5 years of age and birth were classified into quintiles. We estimated adjusted mean differences with 95% confidence intervals in behavioural problem scores between HCZ change quintiles using multivariable linear regression by sex. To examine nonlinear associations, we included cubic spline terms.

Results: Head circumference growth from birth to 5 years of age was inversely and nonlinearly associated with internalising problems in girls. Compared with girls at the lowest quintile of HC growth, those above had an adjusted 1.27 (95% confidence interval 0.28, 2.27) points lower mean internalising problems score. This association was mostly driven by HC growth during the first 2 years. We found no association between HC growth and externalising behaviour in either sex.

Conclusions: Impaired HC growth was related to higher mean internalising problem scores at 5 years of age in girls but not in boys. HC growth was not associated with externalising problems.

Background: To minimise the risk of perinatal mortality, clinicians and expectant mothers must understand the risks and benefits associated with continuing the pregnancy.

Objectives: Report the gestation-specific risk of perinatal mortality at term.

Methods: Population-based cohort study using linked health data to identify all singleton births at gestations 37-41 weeks, in Western Australia (WA) from 2009 to 2019. Lifetable analysis was used to combine the risk of each type of perinatal mortality and calculate the cumulative risk of perinatal mortality, termed the perinatal risk index (PRI). Rates of antepartum and intrapartum stillbirth and neonatal death, as well as the PRI, were examined for each gestational week at term by non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal ethnicity. For non-Aboriginal women, rates were also examined by time-period (pre- vs. post-WA Preterm Birth Prevention Initiative (the Initiative) rollout), primiparity, and obstetric risk.

Results: There were 332,084 singleton term births, including 60 perinatal deaths to Aboriginal mothers (3.2 deaths per 1000 births to Aboriginal mothers) and 399 perinatal deaths to non-Aboriginal mothers (1.3 deaths per 1000 births to non-Aboriginal mothers). For non-Aboriginal women, the PRI was at its lowest (PRI 0.80, 95% CI 0.61, 1.00) at 39 weeks gestation. For Aboriginal women, it was at its lowest at 38 weeks (PRI 2.43, 95% CI 0.48, 4.39) with similar risk at 39 weeks (PRI 2.68, 95% CI 1.22, 4.14). The PRI increased steadily after 39 weeks gestation. The risk of perinatal mortality was higher among Aboriginal women. The gestation-specific perinatal mortality rates were similar by the time-period, primiparity and obstetric risk.

Conclusions: The gestational ages at term associated with the lowest risk of perinatal mortality reinforce that the recommendation not to deliver before 39 weeks without medical indication is applicable to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women giving birth in WA. There was no increase in the perinatal mortality rate associated with the introduction of the Initiative.

Background: We have previously shown that exposure to famine in early gestation was associated with poorer adult health and, in women, with reduced survival up to age 64.

Objectives: Here, we explore the association between prenatal famine exposure and mortality up to age 76 for men and women separately.

Methods: We studied adult mortality (>18 years) in men (n = 989) and women (n = 1002) born as term singletons around the time of the 1944-1945 Dutch famine. We compared overall and cause-specific mortality among men and women exposed to famine in late, mid, or early gestation to that among unexposed persons (born before or conceived after the famine) using Cox regression.

Results: In total, 500 persons (25.1%) had died after age 18. Women exposed to famine in early gestation had higher overall (HR 1.49, 95% CI 1.00, 2.23), cancer (HR 2.17, 95% CI 1.32,3.58) and cardiovascular mortality (HR 2.33, 95% CI 0.91, 5.95) compared to unexposed women. Mortality rates among men were not different between exposure groups.

Conclusion: This study showed that women, but not men, exposed to famine in early gestation had increased overall, cardiovascular and cancer mortality up to age 76. Although prenatal famine exposure affects adult health of both men and women, it seems to only lead to increased mortality among women.

Background: Exposure to trauma across the life course may be associated with cardio-metabolic dysfunction during pregnancy; however, previous research has been inconsistent, particularly in highly exposed populations.

Objectives: To estimate associations between types and timing (first occurrence) of trauma exposure and hypertension experienced during pregnancy in a safety-net hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, 2011-2022.

Methods: Participants completed a 14-item trauma screener. We linked that information to data from the medical record on hypertension (including chronic hypertension, gestational hypertension or preeclampsia). We fit logistic regression models and used the estimates to calculate risk ratios for each trauma type and each critical window (0-9 years, 10-19 and 20+). We fit unadjusted models and adjusted for age, parity and education.

Results: We included 704 individuals with a delivery within 12 months following screening. The majority (94%, 661) reported at least one traumatic event, most commonly witnessing violence (79.4%). Overall, 18% experienced gestational hypertension, 10.8% chronic hypertension and 11.9% preeclampsia. Among individuals who reported trauma, 31.5% screened positive for probable posttraumatic stress disorder and 30.9% for probable depression, compared to 0 and 2.3% among those without reported trauma. No trauma type (violence, witnessing violence, non-interpersonal or sexual assault) was associated with increased hypertensive risk, regardless of timing.

Conclusions: In this sample with a high trauma and hypertension burden, trauma was not associated with an elevated risk of hypertension during pregnancy, despite a high burden of PTSD and depressive symptoms among people with trauma exposure.

Background: Maternal exposure to unfavourable social conditions is associated with a higher rate of perinatal complications, such as placental vascular pathologies. A higher risk of preterm birth (PTB) has also been reported, and variations across studies and settings suggest that different patterns may be involved in this association.

Objective: To assess the association between maternal social deprivation and PTB (overall and by phenotype).

Methods: We analysed 9365 patients included in the PreCARE cohort study. Four dimensions (social isolation, insecure housing, no income from work and absence of standard health insurance) defined maternal social deprivation (exposure). They were considered separately and combined into a social deprivation index (SDI). The associations between social deprivation and PTB <37 weeks (primary outcome) were analysed with univariable and multivariable log-binomial models (adjusted for maternal age, parity, education level and birthplace). Then we used multinomial analysis to examine the association with preterm birth phenotypes (secondary outcome): spontaneous labour, preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM) and placental vascular pathologies.

Results: In all, 66.3%, 17.8%, 8.9% and 7.0% of patients had an SDI of 0, 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Social isolation affected 4.5% of the patients, insecure housing 15.5%, no income from work 15.6% and no standard health insurance 22.4%. Preterm birth complicated 7.0% of pregnancies (39.8% spontaneous labour, 28.3% PPROM, 21.8% placental vascular pathologies and 10.1% other phenotypes). Neither the univariable nor multivariable analyses found any association between social deprivation and the risk of preterm birth overall (SDI 1 versus 0: aRR 1.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.83, 1.26; 2 versus 0: aRR 1.05, 95% CI 0.80, 1.38; 3 versus 0: aRR 0.92, 95% CI 0.66, 1.29) or its different phenotypes.

Conclusions: In the French PreCARE cohort, we observed no association between markers of social deprivation and the risk of preterm birth, regardless of phenotype.

Background: Hospital-level and international variations exist in the management strategies of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). However, studies evaluating hospital-level variations in the respiratory outcomes of pre-term infants associated with differing management strategies of BPD are lacking.

Objective: Herein, we aimed to assess inter-hospital variations in the respiratory outcomes of BPD in very pre-term and extremely pre-term infants.

Methods: In this cohort study, the administrative claims and discharge summary data were extracted from 276 hospitals in Japan between April 2014 and March 2016. This study assessed neonates of a gestational age of 22-31 weeks old, who had been hospitalised for ≥7 days. The primary outcome was a BPD defined using any respiratory support, such as supplemental oxygen, high-flow nasal cannula, CPAP, or mechanical ventilation at 36 weeks PMA. The median odds ratio (MOR) was calculated using a multilevel logistic regression model, including baseline characteristics, comorbidities, and treatment as covariates, to evaluate the inter-hospital variation of the outcome.

Results: Of the 8143 neonates from across 132 hospitals, 53.7% were male, with a mean gestational age (standard deviation) of 28.0 (2.5)-weeks-old and birthweight of 1086 (386) g. Among these patients, BPD occurred in 2737 (33.6%). The MOR was 2.49, representing the median value of odds ratios when comparing two neonates with identical covariates from hospitals with high and low propensity for the outcomes to occur.

Conclusions: Outcome variations in the BPD were observed among hospitals in Japan, even after adjusting for individual factors, including gestational age, birthweight, comorbidities, and treatments. Thus, in Japan, developing strategies is essential to decrease the BPD rates, while minimising inter-hospital heterogeneity, to improve the healthcare quality for pre-term neonates.