Original ArticlesRelationship between Epigenetic Maturity and Respiratory Morbidity in Preterm Infants
Section snippets
Methods
All surviving preterm babies born at <28 weeks of gestation by best obstetrical estimate in the state of Victoria, Australia, during 1991 and 1992 were enrolled in a longitudinal follow-up study. The study was approved by the Human Research Ethics Committees of the Royal Women's Hospital, the Mercy Hospital for Women, Monash Medical Centre, and the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia (HREC No. 23034C). Details of this cohort have been previously described.17
The 143 subjects included
Results
A total of 225 infants born at less than 28 weeks of gestational age in the state of Victoria during 1991 and 1992 survived to 18 years of age. Cohort demographics for the 143 extremely preterm survivors who participated in this study are presented in Table II. Almost one-half received exogenous surfactant, just over one-third were treated with postnatal corticosteroids, and 41% developed BPD.
DNAm gestational age and subsequently gestational age acceleration were determined for each subject.
Discussion
In our study, we used a metric based on DNAm (which we postulate represents developmental maturity in utero and up to 10 days after birth) to assess associations between the postulated measure of developmental maturity and respiratory outcomes that is independent of gestational age. We found that infants born at <28 weeks of gestational age, increased DNAm age was strongly related to reduced respiratory morbidity and fewer respiratory interventions after birth. Importantly, gestational age
Acknowledgments
The Victorian Infant Collaborative Study Group who designed the cohort study from which the participants were obtained comprised the following collaborators: Peter Anderson, PhD, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Catherine Callanan, RN, Premature Infant Follow-Up Program, the Royal Women's Hospital, Parkville, Australia. Elizabeth Carse, FRACP, Monash Newborn, Monash Medical Centre, Melbourne, Australia; Noni Davis, FRACP, Premature Infant Follow-Up Program, the Royal Women's Hospital,
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Supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia (APP1083779 [to J.M.C., C.T., and J.L.C.] and 491246 [to L.D. and J.L.C.); the Centre of Research Excellence (APP1060733 [to L.D., P.D., and J.L.C]); and further funded by the Children's Foundation (2014-134 [to J.M.C., L.D., and C.T.]). The Murdoch Childrens Research Institute is supported by the Victorian Government's Operational Infrastructure Support Program. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Portions of this study were presented at the American Society of Human Genetics annual meeting, October 18-22, 2016, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and as an oral presentation at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting, May 6-9, 2017, San Francisco, California.