Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 28, 2025

Modeling Encephalopathy of Prematurity Using Prenatal Hypoxia-ischemia with Intra-amniotic Lipopolysaccharide in Rats
07:36

Modeling Encephalopathy of Prematurity Using Prenatal Hypoxia-ischemia with Intra-amniotic Lipopolysaccharide in Rats

Published on: November 20, 2015

11.3K

Pre-conception clinical risk factors differ between spontaneous and indicated preterm birth in a densely phenotyped

Jean M Costello1,2, Hannah Takasuka3, Jacquelyn Roger4

  • 1Bakar Computational Health Sciences Institute, UCSF, San Francisco, USA.

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
|February 12, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Maternal diagnoses strongly predict indicated preterm birth (PTB), but not spontaneous PTB. Combining PTB types obscures important risk factors, highlighting the need to study spontaneous PTB separately for new insights.

Area of Science:

  • Reproductive Health
  • Perinatal Medicine
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Preterm birth (PTB) is a leading cause of infant mortality with complex, often unknown, causes.
  • Existing research is limited by data gaps and difficulty classifying PTB as indicated or spontaneous.
  • Electronic health records (EHR) and curated pregnancy data offer new avenues for PTB research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate associations between maternal pre-conception diagnoses and preterm birth.
  • To differentiate risk factors for indicated versus spontaneous preterm birth.
  • To leverage EHR data for novel insights into PTB pathophysiology.

Main Methods:

  • Quantified associations between maternal diagnoses (ICD 9/10 codes) and PTB in a UCSF EHR cohort (10,643 births).
  • Controlled for maternal age and socioeconomic factors.
  • Analyzed indicated and spontaneous PTB separately.

Main Results:

  • Thirty diagnoses significantly associated with indicated PTB (FDR < 0.05), including hypertension, diabetes, and kidney disease.
  • Essential hypertension showed the strongest association with indicated PTB (aOR = 6).
  • No maternal diagnoses significantly associated with spontaneous PTB.

Conclusions:

  • Combining indicated and spontaneous PTB in analyses masks significant associations driven by indicated births.
  • Separate investigation of spontaneous PTB is crucial for understanding its unique pathways.
  • This approach can identify at-risk individuals and advance PTB knowledge.
Abstract

Keywords:
Diagnosis associationsElectronic health recordsIndicated preterm birthSpontaneous preterm birth

More Related Videos

A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting14:43

A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting

Published on: January 12, 2018

11.7K
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale19:15

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale

Published on: August 25, 2014

85.8K

Related Concept Videos

Background and Environment Affect Phenotype02:27

Background and Environment Affect Phenotype

Although the genetic makeup of an organism plays a major role in determining the phenotype, there are also several environmental factors, such as temperature, oxygen availability, presence of mutagens, that can alter an organism’s phenotype.
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
6.4K
Teratogenicity01:07

Teratogenicity

The ability of a drug to produce structural deformations and functional abnormalities in the developing embryo or the fetus is called teratogenicity, and the drug producing this effect is known as a teratogen. Teratogenic effects include stillbirth, miscarriage, intrauterine growth restriction, and neurocognitive delay. A teratogen may affect the embryo at different stages of development, which is important in determining the type and extent of the damage. During blastocyst formation, the early...
2.3K
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches01:23

Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches

Biopharmaceutical studies constitute a vital field aiming to enhance drug delivery methods and refine therapeutic approaches, drawing upon diverse interdisciplinary knowledge. In research methodologies, the choice between controlled and non-controlled studies significantly influences the study's reliability and accuracy.
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...
114
Human Genetics01:28

Human Genetics

Human genetics provides a profound framework for understanding the interplay between genetic predispositions and human psychology. At the heart of this discipline lies the study of how genes influence physical traits, behaviors, and susceptibility to diseases. Each person carries a unique genetic code that subtly or significantly shapes their psychological and behavioral landscape.
The complex relationship between genetics and psychology is observable through common biological components such...
526
Probability Laws01:49

Probability Laws

Overview
39.7K
Nature and Nurture01:10

Nature and Nurture

Many human characteristics, like height, are shaped by both nature—in other words, by our genes—and by nurture, or our environment. For example, chronic stress during childhood inhibits the production of growth hormones and consequently reduces bone growth and height. Scientists estimate that 70-90% of variation in height is due to genetic differences among individuals, and 10-30% of variation in height is due to differences in the environments that individuals experience,...
20.3K