Coming from an early birth, at risk of lung function decline...Regular inspection is important
Jan 22, 2025
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A research team led by Professor Kim Kyung-won of the Department of Pediatric Respiratory Allergy at Severance Children's Hospital, Professor Shin Jeong-eun of the Department of Neonatal Care, and Professor Jeong Ji-ye of Respiratory Medicine at Severance Hospital said that children born at an early age often have lower lung function even after growth than full-term infants, so they should undergo regular lung tests even if they do not feel any symptoms.
The results of this study were published in the official journal of the Korean Academy of Pediatrics (Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics).
Early babies, who refer to newborns born before 37 weeks of pregnancy, start breathing with immature lungs and receive various intensive treatments, including lung surfactants and ventilator treatment. As a result, some are diagnosed with a lung disease called bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).
Recently, the number of premature babies that occur annually due to the increase in high-risk mothers, such as multi-fetal pregnancy such as old age and twins, is increasing by nearly 10% of all births. While the importance of early childhood health care has increased, mid- to long-term follow-up studies on them are insufficient.
The research team established a long-term cohort (LONGITUDINAL COHORT STUDY of the population preTERM) to follow-up and manage the lung health of premature babies from childhood and adolescence to old age and began the study.
As a result of analyzing 150 premature babies born after 2005, it was confirmed that premature babies with BPD are at high risk of deteriorating lung function even if they do not show any symptoms during growth. In particular, lung function decline was found to be more severe when there was an amniotic fluid underestimation in the prenatal period or when ventilator treatment was required for a long time.
The study suggests that premature babies born with immature lungs are at risk of suffering from various chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from childhood to middle and old age, and emphasizes the importance of early respiratory health care.
Professor Kim Kyung-won said "Early born children often continue to have slower-than-average lung growth during growth, but they may not have any symptoms."Lung health should be consistently managed through regular checkups "
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
