title: Increased risk of Barrett's esophagus among individuals born preterm or small for gestational age.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Gastroesophageal reflux is common in infants during their first year of life, especially in those born preterm or small for gestational age (SGA). We assessed whether being born preterm or SGA increased the risk of developing Barrett's esophagus (BE) in adulthood.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a population-based case-control study of patients with BE (cases) that were diagnosed at 2 Swedish hospitals from January 1, 1986, through December 31, 2005. We identified the birth hospital of the cases; data on perinatal characteristics such as gestational age at birth and birth weight were collected from original birth records. We also obtained and collected information on the 3 singleton live births, of the same sex, born after each case at the same maternity ward (controls). In total, we analyzed data from 331 cases and 852 matched controls. We used conditional logistic regression to determine odds ratios (ORs), determined 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and adjusted for potential confounding factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with infants born with a normal birth weight (3000-3999 g), infants with low birth weight (<2500 g) were at increased risk of BE (adjusted OR, 8.22; 95% CI, 2.83-23.88). This was mainly due to an effect of SGA rather than preterm birth. Specifically, compared with infants with normal birth weight for gestational age (25th-75th percentiles), the odds of BE among very SGA infants (<3rd percentile) was nearly tripled (adjusted OR, 2.95; 95% CI, 1.35-6.44).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  On the basis of a population-based study of patients with BE in Sweden, infants born SGA have a 3-fold increase in risk for developing BE as adults, compared with infants of normal birth weight for gestational age.
authors: Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Centre for Family Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. lina.forssell@ki.se
authors: Lina
authors: L
authors: Forssell
authors: Sven
authors: S
authors: Cnattingius
authors: Matteo
authors: M
authors: Bottai
authors: Anna-Karin
authors: AK
authors: Edstedt Bonamy
authors: Jesper
authors: J
authors: Lagergren
authors: Lars
authors: L
authors: Agréus
authors: Olof
authors: O
authors: Akre
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001471:Barrett Esophagus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult