Long-term impact of spontaneous preterm birth on women

A recent aimed to investigate whether women with spontaneous preterm birth (PTB) face elevated risks of long-term mortality. 

This retrospective cohort study included live births in Utah between 1939 and 1977. Women with singleton live births ≥20 weeks who survived at least one-year post-delivery were included in the study. Exclusion criteria involved factors such as non-residency in Utah, improbable birthweight/gestational age combinations, inductions (except for preterm membrane rupture), or other diagnoses likely to cause PTB. The exposed women experienced at least one spontaneous PTB between 20+0 weeks and 37+0 weeks – with those having multiple spontaneous PTBs included only once. Unexposed women had deliveries at or beyond 38+0 weeks. The matching criteria included birth year, infant sex, maternal age group, and infant birth order. The cohort was followed for up to 39 years after the index delivery.

It was found that among the 29,048 exposed women and 57,992 matched unexposed women, 3,551 deaths (12.2%) occurred among the exposed group and 6013 deaths (10.4%) among the unexposed group. Spontaneous PTB was associated with increased risks of all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality, including death from neoplasms, circulatory disease, respiratory disease, digestive disease, genitourinary disease, and external causes.

It was concluded that spontaneous PTB is associated with a modestly increased risk of all-cause mortality and some specific causes of mortality – indicating a long-term impact on women who experience this complication during pregnancy.

Source: Theilen LH, Hammad I, Meeks H, Fraser A, Manuck TA, Varner MW, Smith KR. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology. 2023 Nov;130(12):1483-90.