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Quality of life at age 18 years after extremely preterm birth in the post-surfactant era

Gehan Roberts1, Alice C Burnett, Katherine J Lee

  • 1Premature Infant Follow-Up Program, Royal Women's Hospital, Parkville, Australia; Department of Pediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Department of Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.

The Journal of Pediatrics
|July 27, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Extremely preterm (EP) or extremely low birth weight (ELBW) adolescents reported similar quality of life and self-esteem as controls. However, EP/ELBW individuals showed reduced physical activity, sexual activity, and alcohol consumption.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal care and developmental pediatrics.
  • Longitudinal cohort studies in adolescent health.
  • Perinatal medicine and outcomes research.

Background:

  • Advances in neonatal care have increased survival rates for extremely preterm (EP) and extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants.
  • Understanding the long-term psychosocial and functional outcomes of these survivors is crucial for guiding future care.
  • Previous studies suggest potential challenges for EP/ELBW individuals in adolescence and young adulthood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare self-reported quality of life, health status, self-esteem, and functional outcomes at age 18 years between EP/ELBW adolescents and normal birth weight controls.
  • To investigate the relationship between gestational age/birth weight and these outcomes within the EP/ELBW cohort.
  • To assess the impact of modern neonatal care, including surfactant use, on long-term adolescent development.

Main Methods:

  • A geographic cohort of all surviving EP/ELBW adolescents born in Victoria, Australia (1991-1992) was identified.
  • Matched normal birth weight controls were recruited for comparison.
  • Self-reported questionnaires assessed quality of life, health status, self-esteem, and functional outcomes at age 18.

Main Results:

  • 194 EP/ELBW adolescents and 148 controls provided data.
  • No significant differences were found in overall quality of life, health status, or self-esteem between EP/ELBW adolescents and controls.
  • EP/ELBW adolescents reported significantly less physical activity, sexual activity, and alcohol intake compared to controls.

Conclusions:

  • Adolescents born extremely preterm or with extremely low birth weight demonstrate favorable psychosocial and functional outcomes in young adulthood.
  • These findings suggest successful transition into adulthood for EP/ELBW individuals, even with increasing survival rates of the most vulnerable infants.
  • While overall well-being is comparable, specific lifestyle behaviors like physical activity and alcohol consumption differ, warranting further investigation.
Abstract

Keywords:
ELBWEPExtremely low birth weightExtremely pretermHUI3Health Utilities Index Mark 3NBWNormal birth weightSF36Short Form 36VLBWVery low birth weight

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