Journal article
The impact of very preterm vs very low birth weight on early and mid-adulthood preference-based HRQOL outcomes: findings from the Dutch study on preterm and small for gestational age infants
- Abstract:
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Objectives: Very preterm (VP, <32 weeks gestation) birth and very low birth weight (VLBW, <1500g) are distinct but overlapping risk factors with different clinical implications. We aimed to investigate the separate and combined impacts of being born VP and/or VLBW on health-related quality of life in early and midadulthood.
Methods: We analyzed data from the Dutch Project on Preterm and Small-forgestational-age infants (POPS), a national prospective cohort of individuals born in 1983. Participants were categorized into three groups: (1) VP & VLBW, (2) VP-only, and (3) VLBW-only. We used the Health Utilities Index Mark 3 at ages 19 and 28, and the Short Form 6-Dimension at age 35 to assess multi-attribute utility (MAU) scores and domain-level functioning. Adjusted linear regression models were used, controlling for covariates and employing inverse probability weighting to account for attrition.
Results: Overall MAU scores did not consistently differ between the exposure groups and the VP & VLBW reference group at any time point. However, specific domain-level differences emerged in early adulthood. At 19 years, the VLBWonly group reported significantly better speech functioning (β = 0.11, p =0.01). At 28 years, the VP-only group had better hearing (β = 0.05, p =0.04), while the VLBW-only group had worse ambulation (β = −0.12, p < 0.01). By 35 years, these inter-group differences were no longer statistically significant. Female sex was a consistent predictor of poorer outcomes in several domains by age 35. Attrition weighted models produced nearly identical results.
Conclusions: VP and VLBW are not interchangeable risk categories. While overall HRQoL scores converged by mid-adulthood, distinct domain-specific and sex-based disparities were evident earlier in life. Our findings highlight the need for tailored interventions over a homogenous approach. Future research with consistent measures is required to confirm if this convergence persists over the life course.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 1.0MB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1007/s11136-025-04024-8
Authors
- Funder identifier:
- https://ror.org/0187kwz08
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Journal:
- Quality of Life Research More from this journal
- Publication date:
- 2025-09-13
- Acceptance date:
- 2025-07-03
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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1573-2649
- ISSN:
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0962-9343
- Language:
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English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
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2133985
- Local pid:
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pubs:2133985
- Deposit date:
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2025-07-03
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Bolbocean et al
- Copyright date:
- 2025
- Rights statement:
- © The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/.
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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