未熟児は死亡率が高く、不妊症リスクが高い

「極端な早産だった子供は幼少期の死亡率が高いだけでなく、大人になってからは子供ができないなどの影響が残る」かあ。

面白い調査だと思うので、さらに追跡調査されるといいなああ。

2008/04/07-06:42 未熟児のリスクに警戒を=子孫残せる可能性も低下−米研究


 【シカゴ6日時事】極端な早産だった子供は幼少期の死亡率が高いだけでなく、大人になってからは子供ができないなどの影響が残る−。米デューク大学医療センターのギータ・スワミー医師らのチームは未熟児が受ける長期的なリスクについて研究、このほど米医学会誌に発表した。

 この研究は、ノルウェーで、1967〜88年までに生まれた子供、約117万人分の出産データとその後の追跡調査結果を分析。妊娠期間が22〜27週という最も早産な男の子の場合、1〜6歳で死亡する危険性は通常出産に比べ5.3倍、7〜13歳では7倍に達した。また、死亡するリスクは女の子より男の子のほうが高いことも分かった。

 さらに、妊娠期間22〜27週の早産だった男性が子供をつくることができた確率は通常に比べ76%も低く、女性の場合でも67%低かった。さらに、早産だった女性は、子供を未熟児で産むリスクも増すという。

以下の記事が元かな。

"an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Duke University Medical Center"の Dr. Geeta Swamyの出した調査結果が元と。


Premature Birth Has Long-Lasting Effects Survival, reproduction rates are decreased in those born early, study finds

HealthDay

Tuesday, March 25, 2008


TUESDAY, March 25 (HealthDay News) -- The effects of premature birth last long after a baby leaves the neonatal intensive care unit, a new study finds.

The risk of mortality is increased for years after infancy. And as premature infants grow and try to start families of their own, their own reproductive rates are decreased and women born prematurely have an increased risk of delivering prematurely, the study discovered.


"If you are a parent who has a preterm child, following the first year of life, the mortality risk goes down. But, keep in mind, it's still increased. It's not a cause for significant alarm because the overall rate of mortality is still low, but you need to keep it in mind and make sure you're getting appropriate medical care and surveillance for your child," said study author Dr. Geeta Swamy, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Duke University Medical Center.


Results of the study are published in the March 26 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.


Premature birth is a delivery that occurs before 38 weeks of gestation. About one in eight births in the United States is premature, according to Swamy. Sixty percent of babies born at 26 weeks of gestation have long-term disabilities, such as chronic lung disease, blindness, deafness and neurodevelopmental problems. For babies born at 31 weeks, that number drops to 30 percent, according to background information in the study.


Swamy said that while a lot of attention has been focused on the serious risks that premature infants face early on, most research hasn't looked at what happens as these babies grow up.


To get an idea of the long-term effects of prematurity, Swamy and her colleagues assessed the health of more than 1 million babies born in Norway between 1967 and 1988. The researchers collected mortality data through 2002, and educational and reproductive outcomes through 2004.


For boys born between 22 and 27 weeks' gestation, the risk of early childhood mortality (between 1 and 6 years old) was 5.3 times higher, and the risk of late childhood death (between 6 and 12.9 years old) was seven times higher. For those born between 28 and 32 weeks, the risk of early childhood death was 2.5 times higher, and the late childhood death risk was 2.3 times higher.


For girls born between 22 and 27 weeks, the risk of early childhood death was 9.7 times higher. There were no late childhood deaths in girls in this gestational age group. Additionally, in girls born between 28 and 32 weeks, there was no increase in mortality rates in childhood.


Those children who survived through adolescence didn't escape effects from prematurity. Men born between 22 and 27 weeks were 76 percent less likely to reproduce, and women born at the same age were 67 percent less likely to have children. Women born prematurely who did have children were more likely to have preterm offspring. No such effect was found for men.


"Prematurity may have caused issues that made them susceptible. Were they left with chronic lung disease? Were they left with cerebral palsy? There's a big belief that we're doing so great now, but premature births are still a big problem," said Dr. Peter Bernstein, a maternal-fetal specialist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.


Bernstein added that expectations for today's babies might be brighter because there have been advances in the care of premature infants.


Swamy agreed that the survival numbers may have changed for the better since the study began, but pointed out that the rate of chronic medical conditions could be higher now.


HealthDay


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