Associations between gestational age at birth and infection-related hospital admission rates during childhood in England: Population-based record linkage study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Children born preterm (<37 completed weeks' gestation) have a higher risk of infection-related morbidity than those born at term. However, few large, population-based studies have investigated the risk of infection in childhood across the full spectrum of gestational age. The objectives of this study were to explore the association between gestational age at birth and infection-related hospital admissions up to the age of 10 years, how infection-related hospital admission rates change throughout childhood, and whether being born small for gestational age (SGA) modifies this relationship.

Methods and findings

Using a population-based, record-linkage cohort study design, birth registrations, birth notifications and hospital admissions were linked using a determinist

SUBMITTER: Coathup V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8459942 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature