Effects of Late Preterm Birth on the Incidence of Developmental Delays among Children at 3 Years of Age: A Matched-Pair Case-Control Study ()
Affiliation(s)
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Showa University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
2Department of Obstetrics, Showa University Koto Toyosu Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
3Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: To investigate the relationship between preterm delivery and
developmental outcomes in children born at 34 - 36 weeks of gestation (late preterm
period). Methods: This study reviewed the cases of singleton late preterm
children and full-term (38 - 40 weeks of gestation) children born at Showa
University Hospital. The developmental outcomes at 3 years of age were assessed
based on the results of questionnaires sent to the families by mail. In
addition, the incidence of developmental delays was compared between the late
preterm and full-term children. In the full-term control group, perinatal
characteristics (neonatal gender, Apgar score, Cesarean delivery, birth weight
< 10th percentile, birth weight < 3rd percentile) were matched with those
of the late preterm cases. We compared categorical variables using Fisher’s
exact test. For variables with a non-normal distribution, Welch’s t-test was applied. A p-value of <0.05 was
considered to be statistically significant. Results: The rate of return of the
questionnaires was 25.9% (121) among the cases and 25.8% (163) among the
controls. The frequency of developmental delays was 6.6% among the cases, compared
with 4.3% among the controls. Conclusions: Matching the perinatal
characteristics of the subjects, the frequency of developmental delays was
similar between the two groups.
Share and Cite:
Oba, T. , Hasegawa, J. , Otsuki, K. , Itabashi, K. , Okai, T. and Sekizawa, A. (2015) Effects of Late Preterm Birth on the Incidence of Developmental Delays among Children at 3 Years of Age: A Matched-Pair Case-Control Study.
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
5, 203-207. doi:
10.4236/ojog.2015.54029.
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