Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Oct;36(12):1095-1102.
doi: 10.1177/08830738211047019. Epub 2021 Oct 22.

Health Profile of Preterm Males With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Aida Soim  1 , Bailey Wallace  2   3 , Nedra Whitehead  4 , Michael G Smith  5 , Joshua R Mann  6 , Shiny Thomas  1 , Emma Ciafaloni  7 ; Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking, and Research Network (MD STARnet)
Affiliations

Health Profile of Preterm Males With Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Aida Soim et al. J Child Neurol. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

In this retrospective cohort study, we characterize the health profile of preterm males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Major clinical milestones (ambulation cessation, assisted ventilation use, and onset of left ventricular dysfunction) and corticosteroids use in males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy identified through a population-based surveillance system were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazards modeling. The adjusted risk of receiving any respiratory intervention among preterm males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy was 87% higher than among the corresponding full-term males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The adjusted risks for ambulation cessation and left ventricular dysfunction were modestly elevated among preterm compared to full-term males, but the 95% confidence intervals contained the null. No difference in the start of corticosteroid use between preterm and full-term Duchenne muscular dystrophy males was observed. Overall, the disease course seems to be similar between preterm and full-term males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy; however, pulmonary function seems to be affected earlier among preterm males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Keywords: Duchenne muscular dystrophy; children epidemiology; pediatric; preterm.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Sample exclusion criteria for males from the Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking, and Research Network (MD STARnet) cohort.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Kaplan-Meier survival curves for the time to ambulation cessation among preterm and full-term born males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking and Research Network.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Kaplan-Meier survival curves for the time to intervention for pulmonary function among preterm and full-term born males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking and Research Network.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
KaplanMeier survival curves for the time to first documentation of left ventricular disfunction among preterm and full-term born males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking and Research Network.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Kaplan-Meier survival curves for the time from definitive diagnosis to first documentation of steroid use among preterm and full-term born males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking and Research Network.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Kaplan-Meier survival curves for the time from birth to definitive diagnosis for preterm and full-term born males with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Muscular Dystrophy Surveillance, Tracking and Research Network.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bushby K, Finkel R, Birnkrant DJ, et al. Diagnosis and management of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, part 1: diagnosis, and pharmacological and psychosocial management. Lancet Neurol. 2010;9(1):77–93. - PubMed
    1. Koenig M, Hoffman EP, Bertelson CJ, Monaco AP, Feener C, Kunkel LM. Complete cloning of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) cDNA and preliminary genomic organization of the DMD gene in normal and affected individuals. Cell. 1987;50(3):509–517. - PubMed
    1. Cyrulnik SE, Fee RJ, De Vivo DC, Goldstein E, Hinton VJ. Delayed developmental language milestones in children with Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy. J Pediatr. 2007;150(5):474–478. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yiu EM, Kornberg AJ. Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Neurol India. 2008;56(3):236–247. - PubMed
    1. Zebracki K, Drotar D. Pain and activity limitations in children with Duchenne or Becker muscular dystrophy. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2008;50(7):546–552. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms