Danish premature birth rates during the COVID-19 lockdown

Gitte Hedermann; Paula Louise Hedley; Marie Bækvad-Hansen; Henrik Hjalgrim; Klaus Rostgaard; Porntiva Poorisrisak; Morten Breindahl; Mads Melbye; David M Hougaard; Michael Christiansen; Ulrik Lausten-Thomsen

doi:10.1136/archdischild-2020-319990

Danish premature birth rates during the COVID-19 lockdown

Gitte Hedermann, Paula Louise Hedley, Marie Bækvad-Hansen, Henrik Hjalgrim, Klaus Rostgaard, Porntiva Poorisrisak, Morten Breindahl, Mads Melbye, David M Hougaard, Michael Christiansen, Ulrik Lausten-Thomsen

225 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

To explore the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on premature birth rates in Denmark, a nationwide register-based prevalence proportion study was conducted on all 31 180 live singleton infants born in Denmark between 12 March and 14 April during 2015-2020.The distribution of gestational ages (GAs) was significantly different (p=0.004) during the lockdown period compared with the previous 5 years and was driven by a significantly lower rate of extremely premature children during the lockdown compared with the corresponding mean rate for the same dates in the previous years (OR 0.09, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.40, p<0.001). No significant difference between the lockdown and previous years was found for other GA categories.The reasons for this decrease are unclear. However, the lockdown has provided a unique opportunity to examine possible factors related to prematurity. Identification of possible causal mechanisms might stimulate changes in clinical practice.

Original language	English
Journal	Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal Edition
Volume	106
Issue number	1
Pages (from-to)	F93-F95
Number of pages	3
ISSN	1359-2998
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2020-319990
Publication status	Published - 1 Jan 2021

Keywords

COVID-19/epidemiology
Denmark/epidemiology
Humans
Infant, Extremely Premature
Infant, Newborn
Pandemics
Premature Birth/epidemiology
Prevalence
SARS-CoV-2
Social Isolation

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10.1136/archdischild-2020-319990

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Hedermann, G., Hedley, P. L., Bækvad-Hansen, M., Hjalgrim, H., Rostgaard, K., Poorisrisak, P., Breindahl, M., Melbye, M., Hougaard, D. M., Christiansen, M., & Lausten-Thomsen, U. (2021). Danish premature birth rates during the COVID-19 lockdown. Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal Edition, 106(1), F93-F95. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2020-319990

Hedermann, G, Hedley, PL, Bækvad-Hansen, M, Hjalgrim, H, Rostgaard, K, Poorisrisak, P , Breindahl, M, Melbye, M, Hougaard, DM, Christiansen, M & Lausten-Thomsen, U 2021, 'Danish premature birth rates during the COVID-19 lockdown', Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal Edition, vol. 106, no. 1, pp. F93-F95. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2020-319990

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abstract = "To explore the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on premature birth rates in Denmark, a nationwide register-based prevalence proportion study was conducted on all 31 180 live singleton infants born in Denmark between 12 March and 14 April during 2015-2020.The distribution of gestational ages (GAs) was significantly different (p=0.004) during the lockdown period compared with the previous 5 years and was driven by a significantly lower rate of extremely premature children during the lockdown compared with the corresponding mean rate for the same dates in the previous years (OR 0.09, 95\% CI 0.01 to 0.40, p<0.001). No significant difference between the lockdown and previous years was found for other GA categories.The reasons for this decrease are unclear. However, the lockdown has provided a unique opportunity to examine possible factors related to prematurity. Identification of possible causal mechanisms might stimulate changes in clinical practice.",

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AU - Melbye, Mads

AU - Hougaard, David M

AU - Christiansen, Michael

AU - Lausten-Thomsen, Ulrik

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N2 - To explore the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on premature birth rates in Denmark, a nationwide register-based prevalence proportion study was conducted on all 31 180 live singleton infants born in Denmark between 12 March and 14 April during 2015-2020.The distribution of gestational ages (GAs) was significantly different (p=0.004) during the lockdown period compared with the previous 5 years and was driven by a significantly lower rate of extremely premature children during the lockdown compared with the corresponding mean rate for the same dates in the previous years (OR 0.09, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.40, p<0.001). No significant difference between the lockdown and previous years was found for other GA categories.The reasons for this decrease are unclear. However, the lockdown has provided a unique opportunity to examine possible factors related to prematurity. Identification of possible causal mechanisms might stimulate changes in clinical practice.

AB - To explore the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on premature birth rates in Denmark, a nationwide register-based prevalence proportion study was conducted on all 31 180 live singleton infants born in Denmark between 12 March and 14 April during 2015-2020.The distribution of gestational ages (GAs) was significantly different (p=0.004) during the lockdown period compared with the previous 5 years and was driven by a significantly lower rate of extremely premature children during the lockdown compared with the corresponding mean rate for the same dates in the previous years (OR 0.09, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.40, p<0.001). No significant difference between the lockdown and previous years was found for other GA categories.The reasons for this decrease are unclear. However, the lockdown has provided a unique opportunity to examine possible factors related to prematurity. Identification of possible causal mechanisms might stimulate changes in clinical practice.

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KW - Prevalence

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KW - Social Isolation

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ER -

Danish premature birth rates during the COVID-19 lockdown

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