Robert A. Verwey

The male disadvantage in very low birthweight infants: does it really exist?

In a nationwide collaborative study in the Netherlands, perinatal and follow up data were collected on 1338 liveborn very preterm (<32 weeks) and/or very low birth-weight (VLBW) infants (<1500g). In this group, the mortality risk was similar for both male and female infants. The handicap risk, however, was significantly greater for boys than for girls. This finding could not be explained as being due to the well-known delay in lung maturation in male infants as in idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome and need of assisted ventilation.

Maternal hypertension and very preterm infants' mortality and handicaps☆

In a nationwide survey on liveborn very preterm and/or very low birthweight infants in The Netherlands, mortality and handicaps at the corrected age of 2 years were studied in infants born to mothers with or without hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. The neonatal and in-hospital mortality was significantly lower in infants born to hypertensive mothers. In surviving infants, a similar handicap rate was found at the corrected age of 2 years for both groups.

Regionalization of High Risk Perinatal Care in the Netherlands 132

Background: We evaluated the process of regionalization of high risk perinatal care by comparing data on hospital of birth of very low birthweight infants between 1983 and 1993.

50 THE MALE DISADVANTAGE IN VERY LOW BIRTHWEIGHT |[lpar]|VLBW|[rpar]| INFANTS: SEQUELA AT 2 YEARS

POPS is a collaborative survey of very preterm (<32 weeks) and/or VLBW (<1500g) infants, born alive in the Netherlands in 1983. Out of 1338 study infants, 340 died during the initial hospital stay and 29 between discharge and the corrected age of 2 years. At that age, 942 infants were seen by their paediatricians to assess the presence of handicaps. Of 478 boys, 44 (9.2%) presented with a major handicap and 61 (12.8%) with a minor handicap. In 464 girls however, this was 15 (3.2%) and 50 (10.8%) respectively.After correction for 11 potential confounders such as gestational age and birthweight (by using logistic regression analysis), male gender was significantly associated with an increased risk of handicap (odds ratio 1.7, 95% confidence interval 1.2-2.4; p<0.01). In contrast to the mortality risk during hospital stay, that did not show any difference1 between the sexes, male gender is shown to be an important risk factor for sequelae of very preterm birth and VLBW.1 Verwey RA, Verloove-Vanhorick SP, Brand R, Ruys JH. The male disadvantage in very low birthweight (VLBW) infants: does it really exist? Pediatr Res 1987; 22: 225.