17/09/2025
Premature Infants Need Extra Care During First 5 Years
By age 5 years, premature infants experienced more hospitalizations and had higher rates of various health disorders than those born full term.
METHODOLOGY:
Researchers conducted a population-based cohort study to assess whether premature infants (between 22 and 36 weeks of gestation) utilized more health services or had greater health problems than those born full term.
They included 448,819 children (mean age at follow-up, 4.8 years; 51.3% boys) born between 22 and 44 weeks of gestation in Canada, between 2004 and 2014.
Children were grouped on the basis of their gestational age and were followed up from the age of 6 months; those born between 39 and 41 weeks of gestational age were the comparison group.
The primary outcomes were hospitalizations, outpatient visits, morbidity, and medication needs captured from prescriptions.
TAKEAWAY:
Overall, 9.4% of children were premature. Rates of hospitalizations within the first 5 years were higher for those of lower gestational ages, with the most pronounced effect seen in children born at 22-24 weeks than in those born at 39-41 weeks (risk ratio, 6.37; 95% CI, 5.62-7.22).
By age 5 years, premature infants had 19-47 outpatient visits compared with 17 visits among those born at 39-41 weeks of gestation.
Premature infants had higher rates of respiratory, cardiac, endocrine, neurodevelopmental, and sleep disorders, among others, than those born at 39-41 weeks of gestation.
The premature infants required more outpatient prescriptions, including antibiotics, bronchodilators, diuretics, corticosteroids, and thyroid hormones.
PRACTICE:
“[The study] findings highlight the need for expanded neonatal follow-up and targeted interventions in the first 5 years, particularly for respiratory concerns,” the authors of the study wrote.
“Preterm infants and their families continue to shoulder the burden of chronic medical conditions through at least the first 5 years of children’s lives. They must interact with and rely on the healthcare system long after discharge from neonatal intensive care,” experts wrote in an accompanying editorial.Premature Infants Need Extra Care During First 5 Years
By age 5 years, premature infants experienced more hospitalizations and had higher rates of various health disorders than those born full term.
METHODOLOGY:
Researchers conducted a population-based cohort study to assess whether premature infants (between 22 and 36 weeks of gestation) utilized more health services or had greater health problems than those born full term.
They included 448,819 children (mean age at follow-up, 4.8 years; 51.3% boys) born between 22 and 44 weeks of gestation in Canada, between 2004 and 2014.
Children were grouped on the basis of their gestational age and were followed up from the age of 6 months; those born between 39 and 41 weeks of gestational age were the comparison group.
The primary outcomes were hospitalizations, outpatient visits, morbidity, and medication needs captured from prescriptions.
TAKEAWAY:
Overall, 9.4% of children were premature. Rates of hospitalizations within the first 5 years were higher for those of lower gestational ages, with the most pronounced effect seen in children born at 22-24 weeks than in those born at 39-41 weeks (risk ratio, 6.37; 95% CI, 5.62-7.22).
By age 5 years, premature infants had 19-47 outpatient visits compared with 17 visits among those born at 39-41 weeks of gestation.
Premature infants had higher rates of respiratory, cardiac, endocrine, neurodevelopmental, and sleep disorders, among others, than those born at 39-41 weeks of gestation.
The premature infants required more outpatient prescriptions, including antibiotics, bronchodilators, diuretics, corticosteroids, and thyroid hormones.
PRACTICE:
“[The study] findings highlight the need for expanded neonatal follow-up and targeted interventions in the first 5 years, particularly for respiratory concerns,” the authors of the study wrote.
“Preterm infants and their families continue to shoulder the burden of chronic medical conditions through at least the first 5 years of children’s lives. They must interact with and rely on the healthcare system long after discharge from neonatal intensive care,” experts wrote in an accompanying editorial.
