Global, regional and national levels and trends of preterm birth rates for 1990 to 2014: protocol for development of World Health Organization estimates

Abstract

BackgroundThe official WHO estimates of preterm birth are an essential global resource for assessing the burden of preterm birth and developing public health programmes and policies. This protocol describes the methods that will be used to identify, critically appraise and analyse all eligible preterm birth data, in order to develop global, regional and national level estimates of levels and trends in preterm birth rates for the period 1990 – 2014.MethodsWe will conduct a systematic review of civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) data on preterm birth for all WHO Member States, via national Ministries of Health and Statistics Offices. For Member States with absent, limited or lower-quality CRVS data, a systematic review of surveys and/or research studies will be conducted. Modelling will be used to develop country, regional and global rates for 2014, with time trends for Member States where sufficient data are available. Member States will be invited to review the methodology and provide additional eligible data via a country consultation before final estimates are developed and disseminated.DiscussionThis research will be used to generate estimates on the burden of preterm birth globally for 1990 to 2014. We invite feedback on the methodology described, and call on the public health community to submit pertinent data for consideration.Trial registrationRegistered at PROSPERO CRD42015027439Contact: pretermbirth@who.int

Epidemiology of late preterm and early term births – An international perspective

“…Various international initiatives have collated routine and research data to provide a global view of preterm birth [1]. WHO supported an initiative in 2012 to provide worldwide estimates from 1996 to 2010 and is currently working on more recent estimates for 2014 [1,19]. The WHO Multi-country study is another source for data on preterm births in low-and middle-income countries, although it has a facility-based, as opposed to population-based, design [20].…”

Prepregnancy Overweight and Obesity Are Associated with an Increased Risk of Preterm Birth in Chinese Women

“…Preterm birth is the second leading cause of death among children under 5 years of age worldwide. An estimated 15 million live-born babies are born prior to 37 weeks' gestation every year, with over 1.1 million born in China [1]. The incidence rate of preterm birth is anticipated to increase steeply over the next decade [2].…”

Lipidomic profiling of plasma extracellular vesicles as an effective means to evaluate the risk of preterm birth

“…Despite remarkable advances in understanding risk factors and mechanisms related to preterm labor and general medical care, the preterm birth rate has not improved. Worldwide, about 15 million infants are preterm each year, and this number is increasing [2]. In the USA, the preterm birth rate has even risen to 12-13% in recent decades, and in Europe and many developed countries, it is generally 5-9% [3].…”