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Maternal age and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm infants < 29 weeks gestational age

Journal of Perinatology volume 41, pages 1304–1312 (2021)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective

The objective of this study is to assess the impact of maternal age on neurodevelopmental (ND) outcomes of infants < 29 weeks gestational age (GA) at 18–24 months.

Study design

A retrospective cohort study of preterm infants < 29 weeks GA admitted to Canadian tertiary NICUs was performed. The primary outcome was a composite of death or ND impairment (NDI)/significant NDI (sNDI) at 18–24 months. Association between maternal age and outcome was assessed across maternal age groups (15–19, 20–34, 35–39 and ≥40 years) using logistic regression after adjusting for confounders.

Results

Of 3691 eligible infants, 2652 with complete data were included in the analysis. Significant differences in maternal characteristics existed across age groups. The only difference in neonatal characteristics was the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (p < 0.01). There was no association between maternal age and death or NDI/sNDI after controlling for confounders.

Conclusion

Maternal age is not associated with differences in NDI/sNDI rates among Canadian preterm infants < 29 weeks GA.

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Fig. 1: Flow diagram of patient selection from the Canadian Neonatal Network (CNN) database.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge all site investigators of the Canadian Neonatal Network (CNN) and Canadian Neonatal Follow-Up Network (CNFUN). We would also like to extend our thanks to the data abstractors of the CNN, particularly Junmin Yang, as well as the staff at the Maternal-Infant Care Research Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, for providing organizational and statistical support for this project.

Funding

Although no specific funding has been received for this study, organizational support for the Canadian Neonatal Network was provided by the Maternal-Infant Care Research Centre (MiCare) at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. MiCare is supported by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Team Grant (CTP 87518), the Ontario Ministry of Health and Mount Sinai Hospital. The funding agencies had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the paper; and decision to submit the paper for publication. JGZ is funded by the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Sunny Hill Foundation and CIHR.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neonatology, Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Julia DiLabio, Prakesh S. Shah & Vibhuti Shah

  2. Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy and Department of Pediatrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Jill G. Zwicker

  3. BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Jill G. Zwicker

  4. Division of Neonatology, Surrey Memorial Hospital, Surrey, BC, Canada

    Rebecca Sherlock

  5. Division of Neonatology, Royal University Hospital, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

    Sibasis Daspal

  6. Department of Paediatrics, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Prakesh S. Shah & Vibhuti Shah

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  1. Julia DiLabio
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Consortia

Canadian Neonatal Network and Canadian Neonatal Follow-Up Network

Contributions

JD conceptualized and designed the study, obtained research ethics approval, had complete access to the study data that supported the publication, drafted the initial paper and approved the final paper as submitted. JGZ, RS and SD contributed to the interpretation of data, critically reviewed and revised the paper for intellectual content and approved the final paper as submitted. PSS contributed to the concept and design of the study, had complete access to the study data that supported the publication, critically reviewed and revised the paper for intellectual content and approved the final paper as submitted. VS contributed to the concept and design of the study, reviewed the initial study proposal and research ethics application, had complete access to the study data that supported the publication, contributed to the interpretation of data, critically reviewed and revised the paper and approved the final paper as submitted. All authors approved the final paper as submitted and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vibhuti Shah.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

Data collection was approved by the research ethics board or hospital quality improvement committee at each participating hospital contributing to CNN. Approval for this particular study was obtained from Mount Sinai Hospital’s Research Ethics Board and the Steering Committee of the CNN.

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Members of the Canadian Neonatal Network and Canadian Neonatal Follow-Up Network are listed in a supplementary file.

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DiLabio, J., Zwicker, J.G., Sherlock, R. et al. Maternal age and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm infants < 29 weeks gestational age. J Perinatol 41, 1304–1312 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-020-0735-9

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