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Distribution of Preterm Birth History Among Puerto Rican Children With Asthma: A Rural-Urban Comparison in a

Bryan J Calderin Barreto1, Virna M Nazario Ayala1, Leyra L Vazquez2

  • 1Pediatrics, Puerto Rico Children's Hospital, Bayamón, PRI.

Cureus
|August 18, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Preterm birth, a risk factor for childhood asthma, was analyzed in Puerto Rico. This study found no significant rural-urban difference in prematurity rates among children with asthma, though more research is needed.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric pulmonology
  • Public health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Preterm birth (<37 weeks gestation) is linked to impaired lung development and increased childhood asthma risk.
  • Puerto Rico faces high rates of both prematurity and childhood asthma.
  • Geographic disparities in prematurity among asthmatic children in Puerto Rico are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize the prevalence of preterm birth history among children with asthma in Puerto Rico.
  • To investigate potential rural-urban differences in prematurity rates within this population.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective cross-sectional study of children aged 2-11 years with asthma diagnosis.
  • Data extracted from electronic medical records at a Bayamón, Puerto Rico pediatric pulmonology clinic.
  • Analysis included calculating preterm birth proportions and comparing rural vs. urban rates using chi-square tests and odds ratios.

Main Results:

  • Of 281 children with available gestational data, 14.6% were born preterm.
  • Prevalence of prematurity was 16.3% in rural participants and 12.4% in urban participants.
  • No statistically significant rural-urban difference in prematurity was detected (p=0.46), though the confidence interval was wide.

Conclusions:

  • The study describes preterm birth distribution among asthmatic children in a Puerto Rican clinic setting.
  • While no significant rural-urban disparity was found, the imprecise estimate means a clinically relevant difference cannot be ruled out.
  • Further investigation with larger sample sizes is warranted to confirm these findings.

Keywords:
childhood asthmagestational agepediatric asthmaprematuritypreterm birthpuerto ricorural healthurban health

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