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Adults born preterm at very low birth weight entering middle age: a two-country birth cohort study

Adults born preterm at very low birth weight entering middle age: a follow-up of the Helsinki Study of Very Low Birth Weight Adults and the NTNU Low Birth Weight in a Lifetime Perspective birth cohort studies

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ISRCTN
Registry ID
ISRCTN77533991
Enrollment
400
Registered
2020-06-10
Start date
2019-09-01
Completion date
Unknown
Last updated
2026-08-10

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Health and well-being in adults born preterm with very low birth weight or at term, small for gestational age. Neonatal Diseases

Interventions

The study involves a clinical follow-up at age 32-42 years with objective measurements of physical activity (for seven days), fitness, body composition, respiratory, motor and visual function, and que

Sponsors

National Institute for Health and Welfare
Lead Sponsor
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Collaborator

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Adults belonging to the original birth cohorts born 1978-85 (Helsinki) and 1986-88 (Trondheim).

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Congenital syndromes and anomalies (NTNU), severe disability that makes testing or providing consent impossible

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
The assessments consist of multiple substudies carried out during 1 or 2 study visits between September 2019 and December 2020 when participants are 32-42 years of age: 1. Physical activity: Time spent in vigourous-moderate physical activity measured by two accelerometers 2. Physical fitness: handgrip strength measured by dynamometer; heart rate measured by heart rate monitor belt after a 4 min step test 3. Motor function: fine and gross motor tasks measured by Bruininks Motor Ability Test 4. Lung function: expiratory airflow, FEV1 and FEV1/FVC measured by spirometry 5. Cardiac autonomic function: parasympathetic function as indicated by heart rate variability high-frequency power and mean root mean square of successive differences measured by heart rate monitor belt 6. Body composition: body fat percentage measured by bioimpedance 7. Ophthalmic: ETDRS visual acuity measured by ETDRS chart and macular anatomical status measured by optical coherence tomography 8. Health-related quality of life: Mental and physical health-related quality of life measured by SF-36 component summary scores 9. Impaired glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes: 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (HeSVA only)

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
As above: 1. Body size and composition: lean body mass measured by bioimpedance, waist circumference measured by a tape measure 2. Lung health: history of obstructive airways disease diagnosis, wheezing or persistent cough measured by questionnaire 3. Motor function: manual dexterity measured byGrooved Pegboard Test, gross motor performance measured by High-level mobility Assessment Tool 4. Ophthalmic: contrast sensitivity measured by functional acuity contrast test (HeSVA) and Vistech chart (NTNU), visual fields measured by Octopus (HeSVA) and Humphrey field analyser (NTNU), anatomical papillae status measured by optical coherence tomography, (NTNU only: visual processing measured by visual evoked potentials and EEG) 5. Psychiatric symptoms: internalising and externalising problem scores measured by ASEBA questionnaire, depressive and anxiety symptoms measured by Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory, (HeSVA only: MINI structured psychiatric interview) 6. Cardiac autonomic function: time and frequency domain heart rate variability indices, office blood pressure measured by automated blood pressure monitor 7. Executive function: BRIEF-A questionnaire

Countries

Finland, Norway

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Aug 15, 2026