title: Gestational and neonatal characteristics of children with cystic fibrosis: a cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether the birth weight (BW) and the risks of being pre-term, low birth weight (LBW), and small for gestational age (SGA) of children with cystic fibrosis (CF) are different from nonaffected children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cohort study. We examined all the children with CF born in Tuscany, Italy, from 1991 to 2002 (n = 70) comparing them to the entire population of non-CF-affected children born in the same period (n = 290,059).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean BW of newborns with CF was 246.2 g lower than the mean BW of the non-CF neonatal population (P = .0003). Children with CF had a higher risk of being born pre-term (RR 2.62, P = .001), LBW (RR 2.66, P = .0009), and SGA (RR = 1.74, P = .04) than the non-CF-affected children. The mean BW of term newborns with CF was 205.7 g lower than that of term non-CF-affected babies (P = .0002).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data show an association between CF and reduced BW and show a greater risk of being pre-term for babies with CF.
authors.affiliation: Cystic Fibrosis Center of Tuscany, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Department, Meyer Pediatric Hospital, University of Florence, Italy. f.festini@meyer.it
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Festini
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Taccetti
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Repetto
authors.forename: Maria Francesca
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Reali
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Campana
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mergni
authors.forename: Lore
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marianelli
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Martino
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D015997:Neonatal Screening; D018570:Risk Assessment