Gestational and neonatal characteristics of children with cystic fibrosis: a cohort study.
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.
Festini
Filippo
F
Cystic Fibrosis Center of Tuscany, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Department, Meyer Pediatric Hospital, University of Florence, Italy. f.festini@meyer.it
Taccetti
Giovanni
G
Repetto
Teresa
T
Reali
Maria Francesca
MF
Campana
Silvia
S
Mergni
Gianfranco
G
Marianelli
Lore
L
de Martino
Maurizio
M
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