Physical Activity in 6.5-Year-Old Children Born Extremely Preterm.

Jenny Svedenkrans,Magnus Domellöf,Kajsa Bohlin,Örjan Ekblom,Vineta Fellman,Mikael Norman

doi:10.3390/jcm9103206

Abstract

Physical activity (PA) can prevent cardiovascular diseases. Because of increased risks of impairments affecting motor activity, PA in children born preterm may differ from that in children born at term. In this prospective cohort study, we compared objectively measured PA in 71 children born extremely preterm (<27 weeks gestational age), to their 87 peers born at term, at 6.5 years of age. PA measured with accelerometer on the non-dominant wrist for 7 consecutive days was compared between index and control children and analyzed for associations to prenatal growth, major neonatal brain injury, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and neonatal septicemia, using ANOVA. Boys born extremely preterm spent on average 22 min less time per day in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) than control boys (95% CI: −8, −37). There was no difference in girls. Amongst children born extremely preterm, major neonatal brain injury was associated with 56 min less time in MVPA per day (95%CI: −88, −26). Subgroups of children born extremely preterm exhibit lower levels of physical activity which may be a contributory factor in the development of cardiovascular diseases as adults.

Highlights

The chance of survival for infants born in Sweden between 22 and 26 weeks gestational age (GA) increased from 70% to 77% between 2004–2007 and 2014–2017 [1]
Severe neonatal brain injury (IVH ≥ grade 3 and/or periventricular leukomalacia (PVL)) predicted more time in SED whereas no other factors were significantly associated to SED in adjusted analyses (Table 3)
We show that extremely preterm boys are less physically active at 6.5 years of age than term boys and that severe neonatal brain injury is the strongest predictor of less physical activity (PA) among the index children

Summary

Introduction

The chance of survival for infants born in Sweden between 22 and 26 weeks gestational age (GA) increased from 70% to 77% between 2004–2007 and 2014–2017 [1]. There are more survivors of preterm birth growing up, resulting in more people at risk of developing long-term consequences in later life [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. It is well-known that inactivity in childhood is associated with health risks in adulthood [10,11] while physical activity (PA) is beneficial and can prevent major chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes [12,13,14]. More studies are needed to clarify the association between preterm birth, physical activity and its association with long-term cardiovascular outcome

Methods

Results

Conclusion