142 - Health-related quality of life at age 10 years in children born extremely preterm

Sunday, April 30, 2023

3:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Poster Number: 142
Publication Number: 142.362

Catherine M. Call, Tufts University School of Medicine - - Boston, MA, Scarborough, ME, United States; Ali Oran, University of North Carolina, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC, United States; Michael O'Shea, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, United States; Elizabeth Jensen, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Pfafftown, NC, United States; Jean A. Frazier, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States; Ruben Vaidya, Baystate Children's Hospital, Springfield, MA, United States; Jeffrey Shenberger, Wake Forest School of Medicine of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Lewisville, NC, United States; Semsa Gogcu, Wake Forest School of Medicine of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston Salem, NC, United States; Michael E. Msall, University of Chicago Kennedy Research Center on Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, Chicago, IL, United States; Sohye Kim, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States; Isha Jalnapurkar, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Shrewsbury, MA, United States; Rebecca Fry, UNC-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States; Rachana Singh, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States

Presenting Author(s)

CC

Catherine M. Call, BA (she/her/hers)

Medical Student
Tufts University School of Medicine - - Boston, MA
Scarborough, Maine, United States

Background:

Advances in neonatal-perinatal medicine have improved survival rates of infants born Extremely Preterm (EP), yet survivors are at increased risk for physical, cognitive, and psychosocial impairments. Developing interventions to improve the well-being of infants born EP requires identification of early life factors associated with their self-reported Quality of Life (QoL).

Objective:

To evaluate the association between prenatal maternal health and socioeconomic status (SES) factors and health-related quality of life among 10-year-old children born EP.

Design/Methods:

Participants were identified from an ongoing multicenter prospective longitudinal study of Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborns (ELGAN Study), born between 2002 and 2004, and evaluated at 10 years of age using the Pediatric QoL Inventory completed by their parent or guardian, assessing physical, emotional, social, school, and total (composite) QoL scores. Univariate analyses were used to evaluate the relationship between QoL scores and prenatal maternal health factors as well as socioeconomic status (SES) factors (education level, marital status, public insurance, and food stamp eligibility). Newborn gestational age and sex were evaluated as effect measure modifiers.

Results:

Of 1222 infants who survived until discharge, 889 (72.2%) were evaluated at 10 years. Characteristics of the study sample are summarized in Table 1. Of maternal SES factors, lack of college education, need for public insurance, and food stamp eligibility are significantly associated with lower scores on most QoL scales, while maternal married status is significantly associated with higher scores on most QoL scales. Maternal age greater than 21 is significantly associated with higher scores only on two QoL scales (Table 2). Of maternal health factors, higher rates of smoking (active, passive, and any smoke exposure) and obesity (BMI >30) are significantly associated with lower scores for all QoL scales, whereas asthma, diabetes, and hypertensive disorders (pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, delivery, and any hypertension) are significantly associated with lower scores for some QoL scales (Table 3). Of the newborn characteristics, gestational age less than 27 weeks and male sex are also significantly associated with lower scores on most QoL scales (Table 3).

Conclusion(s):

Among 10-year-old children born EP, specific maternal SES factors as well as maternal health factors are associated with lower scores on a measure of parent-reported QoL. Focused interventions to support mothers’ SES and health prenatally might enhance QoL of children born EP.