title: Otitis media, respiratory tract infections and hearing loss in pre-term and low birthweight infants.
abstract: In 1983, 1338 liveborn infants with a gestational age of less than 32 weeks and/or a birthweight of less than 1500 g, were enrolled in a national follow-up study in The Netherlands. At the age of 5 years, 966 children were alive. Of these, 927 (96%) were assessed on a home visit 2-6 weeks after their fifth birthday by three specially trained paediatricians. An assessment of ENT morbidity was made and compared with ENT morbidity in full-term children of the same age group. Markedly preterm birth or very low birthweight does not seem to be a risk factor for developing middle ear disease in childhood, however, the rate of ENT problems seems to be higher than in the general population of Dutch pre-school children.
authors.affiliation: ENT Department, University Hospital Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Sassen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Veen
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Schreuder
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Ens-Dokkum
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Verloove-Vanhorick
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brand
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ruys
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Grote
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008297:Male; D008876:Middle Ear Ventilation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009017:Morbidity; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors