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WEDNESDAY, July 18, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Compared to full-term children, there is an increased incidence of hearing loss and visual impairment among moderately- and late-preterm infants, according to a study published online July 17 in Pediatrics<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Mikko Hirvonen, M.D., from the Central Finland Health Care District in Jyv\u00e4skyl\u00e4, and colleagues compared the incidences of sensory impairments among very-preterm (VP; <32 + 0\/7 weeks), moderately-preterm (MP; 32 + 0\/7 to 33 + 6\/7 weeks), late-preterm (LP; 34 + 0\/7 to 36 + 6\/7 weeks), and term infants (\u226537 weeks) using data from a national registry (1,018,256 infants).<\/p>\n
The researchers found that the incidences of sensory impairments decreased with advancing gestational age at birth (P < 0.001). Intracranial hemorrhage and convulsions were associated with increased risks of hearing loss and visual impairment. There was an increased risk of hearing loss with VP (odds ratio [OR], 2.34) and LP (OR, 1.26) births, as well as an increased risk of visual impairment with VP (OR, 1.94), MP (OR, 1.42), and LP (OR, 1.31) births.<\/p>\n
“MP and LP groups constitute the majority of all prematurely born children, and impairments among these groups constitute a major burden to society and the health care system,” the authors write.<\/p>\n
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