Omphalocele, advanced maternal age, and fetal morbidity outcomes

In this study we wanted to determine if the risk for adverse neonatal outcome among omphalocele‐affected fetuses is increased among older gravidas. This was a retrospective cohort study on live‐born infants with omphalocele delivered in New York State from 1983 through 1999. We compared infants of older (≥35 years) with those of younger (<35 years) mothers with respect to the following fetal morbidity indices: low birth weight and very low birth weight, preterm and very preterm, and small for gestational age. We used adjusted odds ratios to approximate relative risks. Data on a total of 1,010 infants with omphalocele were analyzed. Mean gestational age and birth weight were similar in both maternal age categories: mean ± standard deviation (SD) for infants with omphalocele born to older mothers = 37.4 weeks ± 3.9 versus 38.0 weeks ± 5.1 for those of younger mothers ( P  = 0.2); mean birth weights ± SD for infants with omphalocele born to older mothers = 2,813 ± 871.1 versus 2,958 ± 809.9 for those of younger mothers ( P  = 0.08). Also, the two maternal age sub‐groups did not differ with respect to the fetal morbidity outcome: low birth weight (OR = 0.95; 95% CI = 0.60–1.51), very low birth weight (OR = 0.78; 95% CI = 0.36–1.69), preterm (OR = 0.95; 95% CI = 0.58–1.57), very preterm (OR = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.34–1.58), and SGA (OR = 1.00; 95% CI = 0.44–2.27). Thus, advanced maternal age does not appear to be a risk factor for fetal morbidity outcomes among omphalocele‐affected fetuses. This information is potentially useful in counseling affected parents. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.