Title
Issues in quality of life of adults born very preterm or very low birth weight compared to adults born full-term: A systematic review :abstract
Author
van der Pal, S.M.
Steinhof, M.
Grevinga, M.
Wolke, D.
Verrips, E.
Publication year
2019
Abstract
Background: Several longitudinal cohort studies that follow participants who were born very preterm (VPT) or with a very low birth weight (VLBW) have now gathered outcome data at adult age. The current systematic review aimed to explore whether Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) of adults born VPT or VLBW differs from HRQoL of adults born full-term. Methods: A systematic review was preregistered under PROSPERO-ID CRD42018084005. Studies were eligible for inclusion when: authors claimed that they had measured HRQoL of adults born preterm (<32 weeks of gestational age) or very low birth weight (<1500 grams birth weight), who were 18 years of age or older; the article was written in English; and a comparison to a control group or valid control norms was reported. We searched Pubmed, Scopus, Psycinfo, Web of Science, Embase, and publica-tion lists from experts in this field. Bias was assessed of how clear hypotheses were stated, if attrition happened at random and if other bias-related problems occurred. Results: A total of 18 studies of 15 unique cohorts from 11 different countries were included in this review. Most of these studies showed that a VPT or VLBW birth does not affect adult HRQoL, especially when handicapped participants were excluded. Differences were mainly found on objective HRQoL, subscales such as physical functioning, for those most handicapped (born small for gestational age or with neurosensory impairments) and for males or females separately. Conclusions: There is no clear-cut evidence that HRQoL differs between adults born VPT or VLBW and controls born full-term, although some groups, especially subjects with one or more handicaps, seem at risk for lower HRQoL. A future meta-analysis should focus on the determinants of HRQoL and the associations between preterm birth, handicaps and HRQoL. Heterogeneity in HRQoL measurements and the definition of handicaps impairs the comparability of studies.
3rd Congress of Joint European Neonatal Societies (jENS 2019), 17–21 September 2019 in Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Subject
Life
CH - Child Health
ELSS - Earth, Life and Social Sciences
Healthy for Life
Healthy Living
Quality of life
Adult outcome
Very preterm
Very low birth weight
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:d1fdb6f7-8fb2-402a-9de9-91c96bf20132
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-019-0521-6
TNO identifier
869280
Source
Pediatric Research, 86 (Supplement), 14
Document type
article