Relationship between interpregnancy interval and neurodevelopment among 6-month-old infants / 预防医学

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To examine the relationship between interpregnancy interval (IPI) and neurodevelopment among 6-month-old infants, so as to provide insights into the prevention of neurodevelopmental abnormalities among infants.@*Methods@#Puerparas with full-term delivery at Anhui Province Maternity and Child Health Hospital from April 2017 to July 2018 and their babies were recruited. The demographic features, behaviors during pregnancy, IPI and birth outcomes were collected through questionnaires and medical records. The neurodevelopment was evaluated using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (third edition) among infants at 6 months of age. The association between IPI and neurodevelopment was examined using multivariable logistic regression analysis.@*Results @#Totally 485 maternal-newborn pairs were investigated, and the puerparas had a mean age of ( 29.43±4.40 ) years. There were 330 puerparas ( 68.04% ) with normal pre-pregnancy body mass index, 325 puerparas ( 67.01% ) with eutocia, 233 puerparas (48.04%) with the first delivery, 44 puerparas ( 9.07% ) with IPI of less than one year and 208 puerparas ( 42.89% ) with IPI of one year and greater. There were 246 male babies ( 50.72% ) and 437 babies ( 90.10% ) with normal birth weight. A total of 148 newborns were diagnosed with neurodevelopmental abnormalities, with a detection rate of 30.52%. Of all newborns with neurodevelopmental abnormalities, there were 45 babies with communication abnormalities ( 9.28% ), 87 babies with gross motor abnormalities ( 17.94% ), 73 babies with fine motor abnormalities ( 15.05% ), 68 babies with abnormalities of solving problems ( 14.02% ) and 60 babies with personal-social abnormalities ( 12.37% ). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed a reduced risk of infant's communication abnormalities ( OR=0.273, 95%CI 0.090-0.833 ), gross motor abnormalities ( OR=0.340, 95%CI 0.150-0.770 ), fine motor abnormalities ( OR=0.266, 95%CI 0.106-0.670 ), personal-social abnormalities ( OR=0.321, 95%CI 0.121-0.851 ) and neurodevelopmental abnormalities ( OR=0.353, 95%CI 0.171-0.730 ) among puerparas with IPI of one year and greater as compared to those with IPI of less than one year, and no significant difference was seen in infant's neurodevelopmental abnormalities between puerparas with the first delivery and with IPI of less than one year.@*Conclusion@#IPI is associated with neurodevelopmental abnormalities among 6-month-old infants.