Analysis of millions of US births shows association between birth defects and preterm birth

May 21, 2008

Babies born preterm were more than twice as likely to have major birth defects as full-term infants, according to a new analysis of nearly 7 million U.S. live births published online this week in the Springer journal Maternal and Child Health Journal.

Preterm birth, live birth before 37 completed weeks gestation, is a growing national health crisis, according to the March of Dimes. More than a half million babies are born too soon each year, and the rate continues to rise. Birth defects and preterm birth are the leading causes of infant death.

About 8 percent of babies born preterm had a birth defect, according to the research by a team of investigators from the March of Dimes, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and several other major institutions.

For this study, the researchers looked at live births between 1995 and 2000 from 13 states, representing about 30 percent of all U.S. births. The findings supported those of earlier, smaller studies.

“The causes of most birth defects are still not known,” says Margaret Honein, PhD, MPH of the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities and lead author of the study. “While it is likely that the most common defects are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, the identification of specific risk factors continues to be a major research and public health priority.”

Research into the link between birth defects and preterm birth was called for in the PREEMIE Act (P.L. 109-450) that was signed into law in December 2006. The act, which authorized increased federal support for research and education on prematurity, also called for a Surgeon General’s Conference, scheduled for June 2008, to establish a public-private agenda on premature birth.

“Infants born preterm were more than twice as likely to have major birth defects as infants born at term, and the association was strongest among very preterm babies,” said Joann Petrini, PhD, MPH, director of the March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center, who also co-authored the study. “This study highlights the importance of understanding the possible shared causes and risk factors that lead to preterm birth among those infants affected by major birth defects.”

Very preterm babies, those born between 24 and 31 weeks gestation, were five times as likely as full-term infants to have a birth defect. The most common birth defects for this group were central nervous system defects, such as spina bifida, and cardiovascular defects, such as a hole in the heart.

Source: March of Dimes Foundation

4.5 /5 (2 votes)  

Filter


Move the slider to adjust rank threshold, so that you can hide some of the comments.


Display comments: newest first

Pogsquog
May 21, 2008

Rank: not rated yet
The wording of this article seems to make out that preterm birth causes defects, when the causal relationship is clearly the other way around. The fact that foetuses with birth defects are more likely to be delivered preterm is hardly surprising.
Rank 4.5 /5 (2 votes)
Tags

Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Starve a virus, feed a cure? Findings show how some cells protect themselves against HIV

A protein that protects some of our immune cells from the most common and virulent form of HIV works by starving the virus of the molecular building blocks that it needs to replicate, according to research published online ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created 10 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Overeating may double risk of memory loss

New research suggests that consuming between 2,100 and 6,000 calories per day may double the risk of memory loss, or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), among people age 70 and older. The study was released today and will be ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created 6 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Injured boomers beware: Know when to see doctor

(AP) -- It happened to nurse Jane Byron years after an in-line skating fall, business owner Haralee Weintraub while doing "men's" push-ups, and avid cyclist Gene Wilberg while lifting a heavy box.

Medicine & Health / Health

created 11 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Declining health-care productivity in England: Who says so?

Reports that the National Health Service in England has been declining in productivity in the last decade appear to have been accepted as fact. However, a Viewpoint published Online First by The Lancet disputes this. The Vi ...

Medicine & Health / Health

created 4 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

FDA-approved drug rapidly clears amyloid from the brain, reverses Alzheimer's symptoms in mice

Neuroscientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have made a dramatic breakthrough in their efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The researchers' findings, published in the journal Science, show t ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (58) | comments 17 | with audio podcast


Scientists discover molecular secrets of 2,000-year-old Chinese herbal remedy

For roughly two thousand years, Chinese herbalists have treated Malaria using a root extract, commonly known as Chang Shan, from a type of hydrangea that grows in Tibet and Nepal. More recent studies suggest that halofuginone, ...

New method to examine batteries -- MRI from the inside

There is an ever-increasing need for advanced batteries for portable electronics, such as phones, cameras, and music players, but also to power electric vehicles and to facilitate the distribution and storage of energy derived ...

Google might launch Drive for cloud storage soon

(PhysOrg.com) -- Google's next big move, according to the Wall Street Journal, is a cloud storage service called Drive. Hardly first to the plate, Google is simply catching up to introducing its cloud reposi ...

A mitosis mystery solved: How chromosomes align perfectly in a dividing cell

Although the process of mitotic cell division has been studied intensely for more than 50 years, Whitehead Institute researchers have only now solved the mystery of how cells correctly align their chromosomes during symmetric ...

Lab study raises questions over nano-particle impact

Tests involving chickens have raised questions about the impact on health from engineered nano-particles, the ultra-fine grains commonly used in drugs and processed foods, scientists said on Sunday.

Researchers find extensive RNA editing in human transcriptome

In a new study published online in Nature Biotechnology, researchers from BGI, the world's largest genomics organization, reported the evidence of extensive RNA editing in a human cell line by analysis of RNA-seq data, demons ...