"‘Striking’ Disparities In Preemies’ Health May Be Bigger Than Thought, Study Suggests"- Jacqueline Howard
A new study suggests that black and Hispanic premature babies, compared with white premature babies, had a two- to four-fold increased risk of four severe neonatal health problems. Those health problems included necrotizing enterocolitis, which impacts tissue in the intestine, and intraventricular hemorrhage, which is bleeding in certain areas of the brain, both of which can be deadly; bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a lung condition that might result in long-term breathing difficulty for some; and retinopathy of prematurity, an eye disorder that can be potentially blinding. Additionally, Asian preterm infants were at an increased risk of retinopathy of prematurity, according to the study published on Monday in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics. Previous research indicated that disparities were minimal, likely because of how the studies were designed, said Teresa Janevic, PhD, assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and first author of the study. Yet "our study estimates risk of very preterm morbidities from the vantage point of all pregnancies, and therefore better captures population-level disparities," Dr. Janevic said.
- Teresa Janevic, PhD, Assistant Professor, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, Population Health Science and Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
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