Objective: To determine the association between second-trimester serum Down syndrome screening (alpha-fetoprotein [AFP] free beta-human chorionic gonadotropin [b-hCG] unconjugated estriol [uE3]) and preterm birth and to create predictive models for preterm birth.
Methods: Secondary analysis on a prospective database of pregnancies undergoing second-trimester screen with complete follow-up. The multiples of medians (MoM) of the biomarkers were compared between the group of term, preterm (< 37 weeks), early preterm (< 34 weeks), and very early preterm (< 32 weeks) delivery. Predictive models were developed based on adjusted MoMs and logistic regression and diagnostic performances in predicting preterm birth were determined.
Results: Of 20,780 pregnancies, 1,554 (7.5), 363 (1.7), and 158 (0.8%) had preterm, early preterm, and very early preterm birth respectively. High levels of AFP and b-hCG but low levels of uE3 were significantly associated with higher rates of preterm, early preterm and very early preterm delivery. The predictive models had diagnostic performance in predicting preterm birth with the areas under the ROC curve of 0.688, 0.534, 0.599, and 0.718 for AFP, b-hCG, uE3, and combined biomarkers respectively.
Conclusion: The second trimester Down syndrome screening could also be used as a tool of risk identification of preterm birth in the same test, without extra-effort and extra-cost.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000495614 | DOI Listing |
Cureus
December 2024
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sakakibara Heart Institute, Fuchu, JPN.
Preterm birth remains a leading cause of neurodevelopmental disability in offspring, prompting various preventive measures. However, controversies persist surrounding these approaches, particularly regarding beta-mimetic drugs. In Japan, it remains a concerning reality that ritodrine infusion continues to be used for long-term tocolysis in preterm labor, despite the warning issued by the US Food and Drug Administration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Hum Biol
January 2025
Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Objective: The objective is to analyze secular trends in birth weight (BW) for Chile from 1990 to 2021, focusing on the mean BW and low birth weight (LBW) prevalence, and to assess differences across Chilean regions.
Methods: Our sample, obtained from the Chilean National Statistics Office, contains information on 7 822 975 births, including the total births that took place in Chile from 1990 to 2021. We calculated mean BW and LBW prevalence at a national and a regional level.
Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol
January 2025
Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Los Angeles General Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Electronic address:
Objective: To assess clinical and obstetric characteristics associated with pregnant patients with a diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Methods: This serial cross-sectional study queried the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample. The study population was 16,759,786 hospital deliveries from 2016 to 2020.
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol
January 2025
Department of Environmental Sciences & Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Background: Preterm birth (PTB) is a common pregnancy complication associated with significant neonatal morbidity. Prenatal exposure to environmental chemicals, including toxic and/or essential metal(loid)s, may contribute to PTB risk.
Objective: We aimed to summarize the epidemiologic evidence of the associations among levels of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) assessed during the prenatal period and PTB or gestational age at delivery; to assess the quality of the literature and strength of evidence for an effect for each metal; and to provide recommendations for future research.
Paediatr Respir Rev
January 2025
Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales 2145, Australia; Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney, Camperdown, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
Physical activity is crucial for children's physical, cognitive, and social development, reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases and improving overall well-being. A major legacy of extremely preterm delivery is respiratory limitation with reduced lung function and decreased exercise capacity which can be further exacerbated by inactivity and deconditioning. Strategies to increase incidental physical activities in early childhood and participation in sport and more formal exercise programmes in middle childhood have the potential to optimize cardiopulmonary function, improve quality of life, and foster social interactions in childhood and beyond, thereby providing benefits that extend far beyond the physical domain.
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