Mode of birth and risk of infection-related hospitalisation in childhood: A population cohort study of 7.17 million births from 4 high-income countries

by Jessica E. Miller, Raphael Goldacre, Hannah C. Moore, Justin Zeltzer, Marian Knight, Carole Morris, Sian Nowell, Rachael Wood, Kim W. Carter, Parveen Fathima, Nicholas de Klerk, Tobias Strunk, Jiong Li, Natasha Nassar, Lars H. Pedersen, David P. Burgner BackgroundThe proportion of births via cesarean section (CS) varies worldwide and in many countries exceeds WHO-recommended rates. Long-term health outcomes for children born by CS are poorly understood, but limited data suggest that CS is associated with increased infection-related hospitalisation. We investigated the relationship between mode of birth and childhood infection-related hospitalisation in high-income countries with varying CS rates. Methods and findingsWe conducted a multicountry population-based cohort study of all recorded singleton live births from January 1, 1996 to December 31, 2015 using record-linked birth and hospitalisation data from Denmark, Scotland, England, and Australia (New South Wales and Western Australia). Birth years within the date range varied by site, but data were available from at least 2001 to 2010 for each site. Mode of birth was categorised as vaginal or CS (emergency/elective). Infection-related hospitalisations (overall and by clinical type) occurring after the birth-related discharge date were identified in children until 5 years of age by primary/secondaryInternational Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) diagnosis codes. Analysis used Cox regression models, adjust...
Source: PLoS Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Source Type: research