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. 2024 May;41(S 01):e2804-e2817.
doi: 10.1055/s-0043-1775564. Epub 2023 Sep 25.

A Scoping Review of Preterm Birth Risk Factors

Irene D Tang  1 , Daniel Mallia  2 , Qi Yan  3 , Itsik Pe'er  4 , Anita Raja  2 , Ansaf Salleb-Aouissi  4 , Ronald Wapner  3
Affiliations

A Scoping Review of Preterm Birth Risk Factors

Irene D Tang et al. Am J Perinatol. 2024 May.

Abstract

Preterm birth is a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality, but its etiology and risk factors are poorly understood. We undertook a scoping review to illustrate the breadth of risk factors for preterm birth that have been reported in the literature. We conducted a search in the PubMed database for articles published in the previous 5 years. We determined eligibility for this scoping review by screening titles and abstracts, followed by full-text review. We extracted odds ratios and other measures of association for each identified risk factor in the articles. A total of 2,509 unique articles were identified from the search, of which 314 were eligible for inclusion in our final analyses. We summarized risk factors and their relative impacts in the following categories: Activity, Psychological, Medical History, Toxicology, Genetics, and Vaginal Microbiome. Many risk factors for preterm birth have been reported. It is challenging to synthesize findings given the multitude of isolated risk factors that have been studied, inconsistent definitions of risk factors and outcomes, and use of different covariates in analyses. Novel methods of analyzing large datasets may promote a more comprehensive understanding of the etiology of preterm birth and ability to predict the outcome. KEY POINTS: · Preterm birth is difficult to predict.. · Preterm birth has many diverse risk factors.. · Holistic approaches may yield new insights..

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of included articles.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Activity-related risk factors for preterm birth. Specific study populations are denoted in brackets. denotes nulliparous sample or results from analysis of nulliparous women only. OR, odds ratio; PR, prevalence ratio; RR, risk ratio.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Medical history risk factors for preterm birth. OR, odds ratio; RR, risk ratio.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Psychological risk factors for preterm birth. Specific study populations are denoted in brackets. OR, odds ratio; PR, prevalence ratio; RR, risk ratio.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Toxicology risk factors for preterm birth. Specific study populations are denoted in brackets. † denotes reference group was first trimester low-intensity smokers. * denotes nulliparous sample or results from analysis of nulliparous women only. OR, odds ratio; RR, risk ratio.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Toxicology risk factors for preterm birth. Specific study populations are denoted in brackets. † denotes reference group was first trimester low-intensity smokers. * denotes nulliparous sample or results from analysis of nulliparous women only. OR, odds ratio; RR, risk ratio.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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