Risk factors for neurological disorders at an early age in premature babies with different gestational ages

Introduction. The high morbidity and mortality in premature infants, neurological and somatic disorders leading to disability, determine the search for early markers and predictors of developmental disorders at an early age and the development of a system of preventive measures, medical rehabilitation and habilitation, depending on the gestational age in the premature infant at birth. The purpose of the study is to compare neonatal risk factors for the development of neurological disorders at an early age in premature newborns taking into account the gestational age at birth.

Materials and methods. A retrospective-prospective study was performed. The study included two hundred twelve premature babies born between 26^th and 37^th week of gestation. There were formed four groups depending on the gestational age at birth: up to 28 weeks (n = 36), 28–31 weeks (n = 51), 32–33 weeks (n = 55), 34–36 weeks (n = 70).

Statistical processing of the research results was carried out using the R system, developed at the Department of Statistics at the University of Auckland, is available under the GNU GPL license and is distributed in the form of source codes and applications.

Results. A high incidence of intrauterine infection in premature infants (90.1%) was revealed. Significant differences and dependence of the frequency of encephalopathy of prematurity (ENPP) on the degree of prematurity were established (p< 0.001), while even with late prematurity (34–36 weeks) ENPP was observed in 12.9%. Data analysis showed the presence of ENPP in the neonatal period in premature infants to increase the likelihood of disability at an early age according to the class of nervous diseases by 22 times compared with the disability rate in premature infants without ENPP, Fisher’s p < 0.001.

Conclusion. Risk factors for delayed neurological disorders in premature infants vary significantly and depend on gestational age, must be taken into account when developing preventive habilitation programs.

Compliance with ethical standards. Research work for the academic degree of Doctor of Medical Sciences “Neurological disorders in premature infants: early diagnosis, prediction of outcomes, habilitation”, order of the rector of the Belarusian Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education No. 1301-ob dated October 31, 2019 on enrollment in doctoral studies Zhauniaronak I.V. The study was approved by the ethics committee of the Belarusian Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education, protocol No. 5 dated March 29, 2022.

Contributions:
Zhаuniaronak I.V. — development of research design and concept, data collection and processing, statistical processing, writing the text of the article, text editing;
Smychek V.B. — text editing.
All co-authors — are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of its final version.

Acknowledgements. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: May 25, 2024
Accepted: June 14, 2024
Published: July 31, 2024

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