Pediatric Cardiovascular Morbidity of the Early Term Newborn

Abstract

Early term delivery is independently associated with pediatric cardiovascular morbidity of the offspring as compared with offspring born at full term.

Coming to Terms with Cardiovascular Morbidity after Early Term Birth

“…In summary, the study by Gutvirtz et al in this volume of The Journal, contributes to a growing body of literature demonstrating that not only preterm, but even early term births, contribute to later cardiovascular morbidities in childhood. 2 It is important that clinicians caring for children born at early term be aware of their potential for increased cardiovascular morbidities as they grow older. ■…”

“…Coronary Stenosis after Kawasaki Disease: Size Matters K awasaki disease is an acute, self-limited vasculitis of unknown etiology that primarily affects infants and young children. [1][2][3] Although fever and mucocutaneous inflammation are self-limited, Kawasaki disease can cause lasting damage to the coronary arteries. Coronary artery aneurysms (CAAs) develop in approximately 25% of untreated patients and approximately 4% of those treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) within the first 10 days of illness.…”

“…In this volume of The Journal, Gutvirtz et al report a large population-based cohort analysis of all term deliveries (37-42 weeks of gestation) at their institution in southern Israel over a 23-year time span (study n = 223 242), evaluating the relationship of pediatric cardiovascular morbidity to being born early term (37-38 6/7 weeks of gestation) as defined by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2 Cardiovascular morbidity in the early term group was compared with full-term, late-term, and post-term neonates. They report a significant association of hospitalizations owing to cardiovascular morbidity in the early preterm infant, followed to 18 years of age.…”

“…Gutvirtz et al do report that fetuses with congenital malformations were excluded from the study, but it is unclear whether that includes congenital heart disease diagnosed later in childhood, which would present with a murmur. 2 This exclusion may be the case, because cardiovascular codes including lesions such as atrial and ventricular septal defects and atrioventricular septal defects, were not included in the set of predefined diagnoses in the methods.…”

Pre‐pregnancy obesity and childhood malignancies: A population‐based cohort study

“…This “programming” may be the result of epigenetic and DNA methylation changes, a process that is established during cell division and differentiation in the early embryonic stage where environmental and nutritional conditions may induce permanent changes that have a lasting impact 16 . Previous studies have shown associations between different intrauterine exposures and several childhood morbidities, including metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular, and cognitive ability 17‐21 . Moreover, recent publications showed associations to future risk for childhood malignancies 22‐24 …”