Expiratory airflow in late adolescence and early adulthood in individuals born very preterm or with very low birthweight compared with controls born at term or with normal birthweight: a meta-analysis of individual participant data

Publication date: Available online 8 May 2019Source: The Lancet Respiratory MedicineAuthor(s): Lex W Doyle, Sture Andersson, Andy Bush, Jeanie L Y Cheong, Hege Clemm, Kari Anne I Evensen, Aisling Gough, Thomas Halvorsen, Petteri Hovi, Eero Kajantie, Katherine J Lee, Lorcan McGarvey, Indra Narang, Pieta Näsänen-Gilmore, Sigurd Steinshamn, Maria Vollsaeter, Elianne J L E Vrijlandt, Adults born Preterm International CollaborationSummaryBackgroundMaximal expiratory airflow peaks early in the third decade of life, then gradually declines with age. The pattern of airflow through adulthood for individuals born very preterm (at <32 weeks' gestation) or with very low birthweight (<1501 g) is unknown. We aimed to compare maximal expiratory airflow in these individuals during late adolescence and early adulthood with that of control individuals born with normal birthweight (>2499 g) or at term.MethodsWe did a meta-analysis of individual participant data from cohort studies, mostly from the pre-surfactant era. Studies were identified through the Adults born Preterm International Collaboration and by searching PubMed and Embase (search date May 25, 2016). Studies were eligible if they reported on expiratory flow rates beyond 16 years of age in individuals born very preterm or with very low birthweight, as well as controls born at term or with normal birthweight. Studies with highly selected cohorts (eg, only participants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia) or in which few participa...
Source: The Lancet Respiratory Medicine - Category: Respiratory Medicine Source Type: research