Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Corresponding Author: T. Individuals born extremely preterm before 28 weeks of gestation comprise only about 0. However, these individuals account for a disproportionate number of children with cerebral palsy, intellectual deficit, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and epilepsy.
The primary focus of these studies has been neurodevelopmental disorders, but also of interest are growth, respiratory illness, and parent- and self-reported global health and well-being. Both of these studies indicate that among individuals born extremely preterm the risks of most neurodevelopmental disorders are increased.
Early life factors that contribute to this risk include perinatal brain damage, some of which can be identified using neonatal head ultrasound, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and neonatal systemic inflammation. For most adverse outcomes, the risk is higher in males. Young adults born extremely preterm who have neurodevelopmental impairment, as compared to those without such impairment, rate their quality of life lower.
However, young adults born extremely preterm who do not have neurodevelopmental impairments rate their quality of life as being similar to that of young adults born at term. Finally, we summarize the current state of interventions designed to improve the life course of extremely premature infants, with particular focus on efforts to prevent premature birth and on post-natal efforts to prevent adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Extremely preterm birth, defined as birth before 28 weeks of gestation, occurs infrequently in the United States about 0. Of the approximately 28, extremely premature neonates born in the U. Consequently, chronic disorders of neurodevelopment, cardiopulmonary function, and renal function affect a larger proportion of children born extremely preterm as compared to those born at term. Whether this is true also for gastrointestinal disorders is not known.
