Abstract
Previous VLBW reports pointed at a higher mortality risk for boys as compared to girls. He investigated this difference between the sexes in a cohort of 1338 infants, liveborn in the Netherlands in 1983, with a gestational age of less than 32 weeks and(or) a btrthweight of less than 1500 g (Project On Preterm and Small for gestational age. POPS). Comparison of boys and girls by gestational age and birthweight showed that, from 27-31 gestational weeks, the mean birthweight for boys Is 50-145 g more than for girls in equal gestational age categories. Because gestational age is a stronger determinant of mortality risk than birthweight, birthweight-defined studies self-evidently must result in an excess mortality risk for boys. In the POPS-cohort, the crude mortality rate in VLBW boys was 29.6% and In girls 25.9%. Multivariate (logistic regression) analysis. Including 22 perinatal risk factors as potential confounders among which gestational age and birthweight, showed that the odds for neonatal mortality were similar for boys and girls: adjusted odds ratio 1.05 (95% confidence-interval 0.74-1.50). He conclude that the mortality risk for the sexes is equal.
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Verwey, R., Ver Loove-Vanhorick, S., Brand, R. et al. THE MALE DISADVANTAGE IN VERY LOW BIRTHWEIGHT (VLBW) INFANTS: DOES IT REALLY EXIST?. Pediatr Res 22, 225 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198708000-00070
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198708000-00070