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Incidence and pattern of hearing impairment in children with ≤ 800 g birthweight in British Columbia, Canada
Author(s) -
Synnes Anne R,
Anson Shelagh,
Baum Julia,
Usher Laurie
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2011.02437.x
Subject(s) - medicine , incidence (geometry) , epoch (astronomy) , pediatrics , cohort , cerebral palsy , cohort study , cognitive impairment , cognition , psychiatry , stars , physics , astronomy , optics
Aim: This study aimed to evaluate changes over time in the characteristics of permanent hearing impairment (HI) in extremely low‐birthweight (ELBW ≤800 g) children. Methods: Data from sequential visits up to 5 years of age assessing hearing and other neurodevelopmental outcomes were extracted from a cohort of ELBW subjects born between 1983 and 2006 at a single Canadian site. Trends in HI incidence, severity and association with other impairments were analysed in three 8‐year epochs. Results: Fifty of 586 ELBW children had a HI. HI rates increased from 5% in epoch 1 to 7% in epoch 2–13% in epoch 3 (p = 0.01). Mild HI decreased from 78% in epoch 1 to 35% in epoch 3 (p = 0.03). Median age at diagnosis decreased from 13 to 8 months. Comorbidities were more common in HI children than non‐HI children: cerebral palsy (40% vs 14%, p < 0.0001)), cognitive (38% vs 12%, p < 0.0001) and visual impairments (16% vs 6%, p = 0.009). Conclusion: The incidence and severity of hearing impairment in a cohort of extremely low‐birthweight children increased significantly from 5% to 13% (p = 0.01) over a 24‐year period. Comorbidities were common. Potentially modifiable causes are explored.