Obstetrics and Gynaecology - Research Publications
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ItemEpisodic and prospective memory difficulties in 13-year-old children born very preterm(CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS, 2022-04-07)OBJECTIVES: Children born very preterm (VP) are susceptible to a range of cognitive impairments, yet the effects of VP birth on long-term, episodic, and prospective memory remains unclear. This study examined episodic and prospective memory functioning in children born VP compared with their term-born counterparts at 13 years. METHOD: VP (n = 81: born <30 weeks' gestation) and term (n = 26) groups were aged between 12 and 14 years. Children completed: (i) standardized verbal and visuospatial episodic memory tests; and (ii) an experimental time- and event-based prospective memory test that included short-term (within assessment session) and long-term (up to 1-week post-session) tasks. Parents completed a questionnaire assessing memory functions in everyday life. RESULTS: The VP group performed worse on all measures of verbal and visuospatial episodic memory than the term group. While there were no group differences in event-based or long-term prospective memory, the VP group performed worse on time-based and short-term prospective memory tasks than term-born counterparts. Parents of children born VP reported more everyday memory difficulties than parents of children born at term, with parent-ratings indicating significantly elevated rates of everyday memory challenges in children born VP. CONCLUSIONS: Children born VP warrant long-term surveillance, as challenges associated with VP birth include memory difficulties at 13 years. This study highlights the need for greater research and clinical attention into childhood functional memory outcomes.
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ItemLong-term expiratory airflow of infants born moderate-late preterm: A systematic review and meta-analysis.(Elsevier BV, 2022-10)BACKGROUND: Moderate-late preterm (MLP; 32 to <37 weeks' gestation) birth is associated with reduced expiratory airflow during child, adolescent and adult years. However, some studies have reported only minimal airflow limitation and hence it is unclear if clinical assessment in later life is warranted. Our aim was to compare maximal expiratory airflow in children and adults born MLP with term-born controls, and with expected norms. METHODS: We systematically reviewed studies reporting z-scores for spirometric indices (forced expired volume in 1 second [FEV1], forced vital capacity [FVC], FEV1/FVC ratio and forced expiratory flow at 25-75% of FVC [FEF25-75%]) from participants born MLP aged five years or older, with or without a term-born control group from 4 databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, Emcare). Publications were searched for between the 22nd of September 2021 to the 29th of September 2021. A meta-analysis of eligible studies was conducted using a random effects model. The study protocol was published in PROSPERO (CRD #42021281518). FINDINGS: We screened 4970 articles and identified 18 relevant studies, 15 of which were eligible for meta-analysis (8 with term-born controls and 7 without). Compared with controls, MLP participants had lower z-scores (mean difference [95% confidence interval] I2) for FEV1: -0.22 [-0.35, -0.09] 49.3%, FVC: -0.23 [-0.4, -0.06] 71.8%, FEV1/FVC: -0.11 [-0.20 to -0.03] 9.3% and FEF25-75%: -0.27 [-0.41 to -0.12] 21.9%. Participants born MLP also had lower z-scores, on average, when compared with a z-score of 0 (mean [95% CI] I2) for FEV1: -0.26 [-0.40 to -0.11] 85.2%, FVC: -0.18 [-0.34 to -0.02] 88.3%, FEV1/FVC: -0.24 [-0.43 to -0.05] 90.5% and FEF25-75%: -0.33 [-0.54 to -0.20] 94.7%. INTERPRETATION: Those born MLP had worse expiratory airflows than those born at term, and compared with norms, although reductions were modest. Clinicians should be aware that children and adults born MLP may be at higher risk of obstructive lung disease compared with term-born peers. FUNDING: This work is supported by grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council (Centre of Research Excellence #1153176, Project grant #1161304); Medical Research Future Fund (Career Development Fellowship to J.L.Y Cheong #1141354) and from the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Programme. C. Du Berry's PhD candidature is supported by the Melbourne Research Scholarship and the Centre of Research Excellence in Newborn Medicine.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableBrain tissue microstructural and free-water composition 13 years after very preterm birth(ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE, 2022-07-01)There have been many studies demonstrating children born very preterm exhibit brain white matter microstructural alterations, which have been related to neurodevelopmental difficulties. These prior studies have often been based on diffusion MRI modelling and analysis techniques, which commonly focussed on white matter microstructural properties in children born very preterm. However, there have been relatively fewer studies investigating the free-water content of the white matter, and also the microstructure and free-water content of the cortical grey matter, in children born very preterm. These biophysical properties of the brain change rapidly during fetal and neonatal brain development, and therefore such properties are likely also adversely affected by very preterm birth. In this study, we investigated the relationship of very preterm birth (<30 weeks' gestation) to both white matter and cortical grey matter microstructure and free-water content in childhood using advanced diffusion MRI analyses. A total of 130 very preterm participants and 45 full-term control participants underwent diffusion MRI at age 13 years. Diffusion tissue signal fractions derived by Single-Shell 3-Tissue Constrained Spherical Deconvolution were used to investigate brain tissue microstructural and free-water composition. The tissue microstructural and free-water composition metrics were analysed using a voxel-based analysis and cortical region-of-interest analysis approach. Very preterm 13-year-olds exhibited reduced white matter microstructural density and increased free-water content across widespread regions of the white matter compared with controls. Additionally, very preterm 13-year-olds exhibited reduced microstructural density and increased free-water content in specific temporal, frontal, occipital and cingulate cortical regions. These brain tissue composition alterations were strongly associated with cerebral white matter abnormalities identified in the neonatal period, and concurrent adverse cognitive and motor outcomes in very preterm children. The findings demonstrate brain microstructural and free-water alterations up to thirteen years from neonatal brain abnormalities in very preterm children that relate to adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableInvestigating brain structural maturation in children and adolescents born very preterm using the brain age framework(ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE, 2021-12-18)Very preterm (VP) birth is associated with an increased risk for later neurodevelopmental and behavioural challenges. Although the neurobiological underpinnings of such challenges continue to be explored, previous studies have reported brain volume and morphology alterations in children and adolescents born VP compared with full-term (FT)-born controls. How these alterations relate to the trajectory of brain maturation, with potential implications for later brain ageing, remains unclear. In this longitudinal study, we investigate the relationship between VP birth and brain development during childhood and adolescence. We construct a normative 'brain age' model to predict age over childhood and adolescence based on measures of brain cortical and subcortical volumes and cortical morphology from structural MRI of a dataset of typically developing children aged 3-21 years (n = 768). Using this model, we examined deviations from normative brain development in a separate dataset of children and adolescents born VP (<30 weeks' gestation) at two timepoints (ages 7 and 13 years) compared with FT-born controls (120 VP and 29 FT children at age 7 years; 140 VP and 47 FT children at age 13 years). Brain age delta (brain-predicted age minus chronological age) was, on average, higher in the VP group at both timepoints compared with controls, however this difference had a small to medium effect size and was not statistically significant. Variance in brain age delta was higher in the VP group compared with controls; this difference was significant at the 13-year timepoint. Within the VP group, there was little evidence of associations between brain age delta and perinatal risk factors or cognitive and motor outcomes. Under the brain age framework, our results may suggest that children and adolescents born VP have similar brain structural developmental trajectories to term-born peers between 7 and 13 years of age.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableVery Preterm Early Motor Repertoire and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 8 Years(AMER ACAD PEDIATRICS, 2021-09-01)BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Children born very preterm (<32 weeks' gestation) have more neurodevelopmental problems compared with term-born peers. Aberrant fidgety movements (FMs) are associated with adverse motor outcomes in children born very preterm. However, associations of aberrant FMs combined with additional movements and postures to give a motor optimality score-revised (MOS-R) with school-aged cognitive and motor outcomes are unclear. Our aim with this study was to determine those associations. METHODS: Of 118 infants born <30 weeks' gestation recruited into a randomized controlled trial of early intervention, 97 had a general movements assessment at 3 months' corrected age and were eligible for this study. Early motor repertoire including FMs and MOS-R were scored from videos of infant's spontaneous movement at 3 months' corrected age. At 8 years' corrected age, cognitive and motor performances were evaluated. Associations of early FMs and MOS-R with outcomes at 8 years were determined using linear regression. RESULTS: Seventy-eight (80%) infants with early motor repertoire data had neurodevelopmental assessments at 8 years. A higher MOS-R, and favorable components of the individual subscales of the MOS-R, including the presence of normal FMs, were associated with better performance for general cognition, attention, working memory, executive function and motor function at 8 years; eg, presence of normal FMs was associated with a 21.6 points higher general conceptual ability score (95% confidence interval: 12.8-30.5; P < .001) compared with absent FMs. CONCLUSIONS: Favorable early motor repertoire of infants born <30 weeks is strongly associated with improved cognitive and motor performance at 8 years.
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ItemMathematical performance in childhood and early adult outcomes after very preterm birth: an individual participant data meta-analysis(WILEY, 2021-12-15)AIM: To investigate the strength of the independent associations of mathematics performance in children born very preterm (<32wks' gestation or <1500g birthweight) with attending postsecondary education and their current employment status in young adulthood. METHOD: We harmonized data from six very preterm birth cohorts from five different countries and carried out one-stage individual participant data meta-analyses (n=954, 52% female) using mixed effects logistic regression models. Mathematics scores at 8 to 11 years of age were z-standardized using contemporary cohort-specific controls. Outcomes included any postsecondary education, and employment/education status in young adulthood. All models were adjusted for year of birth, gestational age, sex, maternal education, and IQ in childhood. RESULTS: Higher mathematics performance in childhood was independently associated with having attended any postsecondary education (odds ratio [OR] per SD increase in mathematics z-score: 1.36 [95% confidence interval {CI}: 1.03, 1.79]) but not with current employment/education status (OR 1.14 per SD increase [95% CI: 0.87, 1.48]). INTERPRETATION: Among populations born very preterm, childhood mathematics performance is important for adult educational attainment, but not for employment status.
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ItemADHD symptoms and diagnosis in adult preterms: systematic review, IPD meta-analysis, and register-linkage study(SPRINGERNATURE, 2022-01-07)BACKGROUND: This study examined differences in ADHD symptoms and diagnosis between preterm and term-born adults (≥18 years), and tested if ADHD is related to gestational age, birth weight, multiple births, or neonatal complications in preterm borns. METHODS: (1) A systematic review compared ADHD symptom self-reports and diagnosis between preterm and term-born adults published in PubMed, Web of Science, and PROQUEST until April 2021; (2) a one-stage Individual Participant Data(IPD) meta-analysis (n = 1385 preterm, n = 1633 term; born 1978-1995) examined differences in self-reported ADHD symptoms[age 18-36 years]; and (3) a population-based register-linkage study of all live births in Finland (01/01/1987-31/12/1998; n = 37538 preterm, n = 691,616 term) examined ADHD diagnosis risk in adulthood (≥18 years) until 31/12/2016. RESULTS: Systematic review results were conflicting. In the IPD meta-analysis, ADHD symptoms levels were similar across groups (mean z-score difference 0.00;95% confidence interval [95% CI] -0.07, 0.07). Whereas in the register-linkage study, adults born preterm had a higher relative risk (RR) for ADHD diagnosis compared to term controls (RR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.12, 1.41, p < 0.001). Among preterms, as gestation length (RR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.89, 0.97, p < 0.001) and SD birth weight z-score (RR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.80, 0.97, p < 0.001) increased, ADHD risk decreased. CONCLUSIONS: While preterm adults may not report higher levels of ADHD symptoms, their risk of ADHD diagnosis in adulthood is higher. IMPACT: Preterm-born adults do not self-report higher levels of ADHD symptoms, yet are more likely to receive an ADHD diagnosis in adulthood compared to term-borns. Previous evidence has consisted of limited sample sizes of adults and used different methods with inconsistent findings. This study assessed adult self-reported symptoms across 8 harmonized cohorts and contrasted the findings with diagnosed ADHD in a population-based register-linkage study. Preterm-born adults may not self-report increased ADHD symptoms. However, they have a higher risk of ADHD diagnosis, warranting preventive strategies and interventions to reduce the presentation of more severe ADHD symptomatology in adulthood.
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ItemInvestigating the brain structural connectome following working memory training in children born extremely preterm or extremely low birth weight(WILEY, 2021-02-23)Children born extremely preterm (EP, <28 weeks' gestation) or extremely low birth weight (ELBW, <1,000 g) are a vulnerable population at high risk of working memory impairments. We aimed to examine changes in the brain structural connectivity networks thought to underlie working memory performance, after completion of a working memory training program (Cogmed) compared with a placebo program in EP/ELBW children. This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial (the Improving Memory in a Preterm Randomised Intervention Trial). Children born EP/ELBW received either the Cogmed or placebo program at 7 years of age (n = 91). A subset of children had magnetic resonance imaging of the brain immediately pre- and 2 weeks post-training (Cogmed n = 28; placebo n = 27). T1 -weighted and diffusion-weighted images were used to perform graph theoretical analysis of structural connectivity networks. Changes from pre-training to post-training in structural connectivity metrics were generally similar between randomized groups. There was little evidence that changes in structural connectivity metrics were related to changes in working memory performance from pre- to post-training. Overall, our results provide little evidence that the Cogmed working memory training program has training-specific effects on structural connectivity networks in EP/ELBW children.
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ItemTemporal changes in rates of active management and infant survival following live birth at 22-24 weeks' gestation in Victoria(WILEY, 2021-02-16)BACKGROUND: Management of livebirths at 22-24 weeks' gestation in high-income countries varies widely and has changed over time. AIMS: Our aim was to determine how rates of active management and infant survival of livebirths at 22-24 weeks varied with perinatal variables known at birth, and over time in Victoria, Australia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a population-based cohort study of all 22-24 weeks' gestation live births, free of lethal congenital anomalies in 2009-2017. Rates of active management and survival to one year of age were reported. 'Active management' was defined as receiving resuscitation at birth or nursery admission for intensive care. RESULTS: Over the nine-year period, there were 796 eligible live births. Overall, 438 (55%) were actively managed: 5% at 22 weeks, 45% at 23 weeks and 90% at 24 weeks' gestation, but rates of active management did not vary substantially over time. Of livebirths actively managed, 263 (60%) survived to one year: 0% at 22 weeks, 50% at 23 weeks and 66% at 24 weeks. Apart from gestational age, being born in a tertiary perinatal centre and increased size at birth were associated with survival in those actively managed, but sex and plurality were not. Survival rates of actively managed infants rose over time (adjusted odds ratio 1.09 per year; 95% CI 1.01-1.18; P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Although active management rates did not change substantially over time in Victoria, an overall increase in infant survival was observed. With increasing gestational age, rates of active management and infant survival rapidly rose.
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ItemTranslating antenatal magnesium sulphate neuroprotection for infants born < 28 weeks' gestation into practice: A geographical cohort study(WILEY, 2021-02-02)BACKGROUND: Magnesium sulphate was introduced for fetal neuroprotection in Australia in 2010. The aim of this study was to determine how often antenatal magnesium sulphate is used currently and its association with cerebral palsy in children born <28 weeks' gestation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants comprised all survivors born <28 weeks' gestational age in the state of Victoria in 2016-17, and earlier, in 1991-92, 1997, 2005. Rates of cerebral palsy, diagnosed at two years for the 2016-17 cohort, and at eight years in the earlier cohorts, were compared across eras. Within 2016-17, the proportions of children exposed to antenatal magnesium sulphate were determined, and rates of cerebral palsy were compared between those with and without exposure to magnesium sulphate. RESULTS: Overall, cerebral palsy was present in 6% (11/171) of survivors born in 2016-17, compared with 12% (62/499) of survivors born in the three earlier eras (odds ratio (OR) 0.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.25-0.94; P = 0.032). Data were available for 213/215 (99%) survivors born in 2016-17, of whom 147 (69%) received magnesium sulphate. Data on cerebral palsy at two years were available for 171 (80%) survivors with magnesium data. Cerebral palsy was present in 5/125 (4%) children exposed to magnesium sulphate and in 6/46 (13%) of those not exposed (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.08-0.96; P = 0.043). CONCLUSIONS: Antenatal magnesium sulphate is being translated into clinical practice for infants born <28 weeks' gestation, but there is room for improvement. It is associated with lower rates of cerebral palsy in survivors.