Unravelling the respiratory health path across the lifespan for survivors of preterm birth

Shannon J. Simpson, Cassidy Du Berry, Denby J. Evans, James T.D. Gibbons, Maria Vollsæter, Thomas Halvorsen, Karl Gruber, Enrico Lombardi, Sanja Stanojevic, John R. Hurst, Petra Um-Bergström, Jenny Hallberg, Lex W. Doyle, Sailesh Kotecha, on behalf of PELICAN

Research output: Contribution to journalReview ArticleResearchpeer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Many survivors of preterm birth will have abnormal lung development, reduced peak lung function and, potentially, an increased rate of physiological lung function decline, each of which places them at increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease across the lifespan. Current rates of preterm birth indicate that by the year 2040, around 50 years since the introduction of surfactant therapy, more than 700 million individuals will have been born prematurely—a number that will continue to increase by about 15 million annually. In this Personal View, we describe current understanding of the impact of preterm birth on lung function through the life course, with the aim of putting this emerging health crisis on the radar for the respiratory community. We detail the potential underlying mechanisms of prematurity-associated lung disease and review current approaches to prevention and management. Furthermore, we propose a novel way of considering lung disease after preterm birth, using a multidimensional model to determine individual phenotypes of lung disease—a first step towards optimising management approaches for prematurity-associated lung disease.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)167-180
Number of pages14
JournalThe Lancet Respiratory Medicine
Volume12
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2024
Externally publishedYes

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