Neonatal Morbidities, Neurodevelopmental Impairments, and Positive Health among Children Surviving Birth Before 32 Weeks of Gestation
Neonatal Morbidities, Neurodevelopmental Impairments, and Positive Health among Children Surviving Birth Before 32 Weeks of Gestation

Neonatal Morbidities, Neurodevelopmental Impairments, and Positive Health among Children Surviving Birth Before 32 Weeks of Gestation

J Pediatr. 2024 Oct 29:114376. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2024.114376. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate positive health outcomes among children born at < 32 weeks of gestation, and to determine whether children with three common neonatal morbidities and two neurodevelopmental impairments would have similar positive health outcomes to children and adolescents without these exposures and impairments.

STUDY DESIGN: In this secondary analysis of prospectively acquired data derived from three multi-center cohorts of children born very preterm (the ELGAN cohort [birth years 2001 to 2004], the NOVI cohort [birth years 2014 to 2016], and the DINE cohort [birth years 2010 to 2020]), we examined associations between the three common neonatal morbidities (bronchopulmonary dysplasia, necrotizing enterocolitis, and intraventricular hemorrhage, diagnosed before hospital discharge), two neurodevelopmental impairments (developmental delays and cerebral palsy, diagnosed at preschool age follow-up), and perceptions of physical, mental, and social well-being (in either early childhood or adolescence), using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMISĀ®) scales for positive health.

RESULTS: After adjusting for confounders, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, intraventricular hemorrhage, and cerebral palsy were associated with lower positive health scores, reported by parent-proxy during early childhood. None of the exposures or impairments were associated with lower positive health scores at adolescence, reported by the children themselves.

CONCLUSION: Parents of children born very preterm with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, intraventricular hemorrhage, or cerebral palsy rated their children’s positive health lower than did parents of children without these morbidities. However, adolescents’ own reports of positive health outcomes were not associated with either neonatal pre-discharge morbidities or preschool neurodevelopmental impairments.

PMID:39481800 | DOI:10.1016/j.jpeds.2024.114376