V. Addor et al., ENROLLMENT OF A POPULATION-BASED COHORT OF NEWBORNS AT HIGHER RISK OFDEVELOPING A CHRONIC CONDITION - THE EDEN STUDY, International journal of epidemiology, 26(2), 1997, pp. 340-348
Objective. To describe the methods used at birth to recruit a populati
on-based cohort of newborns of all birthweights at higher risk of havi
ng a chronic condition, and to present baseline results. Methods. Scre
ening of ail newborns at hospital discharge for five non-exclusive cri
teria: (1) low birthweight (LBW), (2) congenital anomalies or genetic
disease, (3) specified conditions associated with a high probability o
f chronicity, (4) referral to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), (
5) or defined social problems. Calculation of Hobel risk scores for ch
ildren satisfying greater than or equal to 1 criterion. Subjects. Ail
6477 live births delivered in the 19 maternity hospitals of a geograph
ically defined region (Vaud, Switzerland) to resident mothers in 1993-
1994. Results. Twelve per cent (n = 760) of newborns met greater than
or equal to 1 criterion: 6.3% or all newborns had an LBW (criterion 1)
, 2.4% had a birth defect, 0.90% met criterion (3), 4.4% stayed in an
NICU and 1.6% had serious social problems, Hobel prenatal score was hi
gh (greater than or equal to 10 points) for 41% of children with great
er than or equal to 1 criterion, the intrapartum score for 87% and the
neonatal score for 68%. Conclusions. Most newborns identified by the
above simple criteria also had elevated perinatal risks. The validity
of the criteria will later be tested against the results of the examin
ations of children with greater than or equal to 1 criterion at 18 mon
ths and 4 years of age, but the assessment at birth already shows that
normal birthweight (NBW) children, in agreement with previous studies
, contribute halt the children at high risk perinatally.