Low birth-weight may up death risk in infants, adolescents

Babies born with a low birth-weight are at an increased risk of death from infancy to adolescence, a new study led by an Indian-origin researcher has found for the first time.
Researchers led by Sailesh Kotecha from Cardiff University in the UK examined official death rates in low birth-weight babies among over 12 million births in England and Wales.
The research found that of the 12,355,251 live births between 1993 and 2011, there were 74,890 (0.61 per cent) deaths between birth and 18 years of age, with 57,623 (77 per cent) occurring in the first year of life and 17,267 (23 per cent) occurring between 1 and 18 years of age.

Death rates were higher in babies with low birth-weight at both age groups, with death occurring 130 times more frequently in those born at a very low birth-weight (under 2,500 g) than normal birth weight in infancy.
Events occurring around birth and premature births were important causes of deaths in infancy.
Causes for deaths in those aged 1 and 18 years of age were more evenly distributed across causes, with conditions of the nervous system (20 per cent) and respiratory system (16 per cent) being leading causes of death in the lowest birth-weight group but cancers and external conditions (including accidents) being the primary causes of death in low birth-weight groups.

"We know low birth-weight is associated with increased mortality rates in infancy; however, its association with mortality in later childhood and adolescence is less clear cut," said Kotecha.

"This study is significant as it shows, for the first time, that low birth-weight is associated with increased death rates from infancy right through to adolescence," he said.
The study reinforces the need to target factors known to contribute to low birth-weights to help cut deaths.
"The study reaffirms the need to tackle important factors such as maternal smoking and deprivation which are well known to contribute to low birth weight," said Kotecha.

"By better understanding and ameliorating influences that lead to low birth-weight, deaths in infancy and beyond could be cut," he said.
The study was published in the journal PLOS Medicine.