Tiivistelmä

Joka kymmenes lapsi maailmassa syntyy ennenaikaisena, Suomessa osuus on runsaat 5 %.

Keskostutkimuksessa on perinteisesti kiinnitetty eniten huomiota pikkukeskosiin, joihin suurimmat terveysriskit kohdistuvat.

Hieman ennenaikaisina eli raskausviikoilla 34–36 syntyneistä suurin osa on aikuisiässä terveitä, mutta heillä on ryhmätasolla havaittavissa enemmän terveysriskejä kuin täysiaikaisina syntyneillä.

Koska kyseessä on määrällisesti iso joukko, saattavat pienetkin terveyserot olla kokonaistautitaakan näkökulmasta merkityksellisiä.

Abstract

One in ten children globally is born preterm, before 37 completed weeks of gestation. The corresponding number in Finland is just above 5%. Prematurity research has traditionally focused mainly on infants born very preterm (< 32 gestational weeks), which is not surprising since the most vulnerable infants face the greatest health challenges. Of all preterm children, however, the majority (70%) are born late preterm, between 34+0 and 36+6 weeks of gestation. Given their numerical preponderance, research on long term outcomes of individuals born late preterm has gained interest in recent years. This review aims to provide an overview of what we know today about adult outcomes after late preterm birth. We conclude that, although most individuals born late preterm are healthy and do well, some differences in health parameters are discernible when compared to controls born after full term pregnancy. The differences are small at the individual level. However, considering the large number of individuals born late preterm, even small differences in health outcomes contribute to the total disease burden and may have a substantial societal impact.