title: Research agenda for preterm birth: recommendations from the March of Dimes.
abstract: Preterm birth (PTB) is a common, serious, and costly health problem affecting nearly 1 in 8 births in the United States. Burdens from PTB are especially severe for the very preterm infant (<32 weeks' gestation), comprising 2% of all US births. Successful prevention needs to include newly focused and adequately funded research, incorporating new technologies and recognition that genetic, environmental, social, and behavioral factors interact in complex pathogeneses and multiple pathways leading to PTB. The March of Dimes Scientific Advisory Committee created this prioritized research agenda, which is aimed at garnering serious attention and expanding resources to make major inroads into the prevention of PTB, targeting six major, overlapping categories: epidemiology, genetics, disparities, inflammation, biologic stress, and clinical trials. Analogous to other common, complex disorders, progress in prevention will require incorporating multipronged risk reduction strategies that are based on sound scientific discovery, as well as on effective translation into clinical care.
authors.affiliation: March of Dimes, White Plains, NY, USA. ngreen@modimes.org
authors.forename: Nancy S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Karla
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Damus
authors.forename: Joe Leigh
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Iams
authors.forename: E Albert
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Reece
authors.forename: Calvin J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Hobel
authors.forename: Irwin R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Merkatz
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Greene
authors.forename: Richard H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Schwarz
mesh_terms: D002608:Charities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008429:Maternal Welfare; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D012106:Research; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology