Representative status of children born <26 weeks of gestation in England from the EPICure cohorts at 11 years and comparative characteristics for the two cohorts
| EPICure 1995 | EPICure2 2006 | Children assessed at 11 years | ||||
| Whole sample survivors by 2.5 years | Children assessed at 11 years | Whole sample survivors by 3 years | Children assessed at 11 years | 2006 vs 1995 | ||
| n=260 | n=176 | n=584 | n=112 | P value | ||
| Gestational age | ||||||
| <24 weeks | % (n/N) | 9.2% (24/260) | 10.8% (19/176) | 11.3% (66/584) | 13.4% (15/112) | 0.337 |
| 24 weeks | % (n/N) | 31.9% (83/260) | 33.0% (58/176) | 30.3% (177/584) | 25.0% (28/112) | |
| 25 weeks | % (n/N) | 58.8% (153/260) | 56.3% (99/176) | 58.4% (341/584) | 61.6% (69/112) | |
| Birth weight (g) | Mean (SD) | 748.1 (109.9) (n=260) | 745.8 (109.1) (n=176) | 735.2 (120.3) (n=584) | 739.6 (119.0) (n=112) | 0.647 |
| Birth weight z scores | Mean (SD) | −0.2 (0.8) (n=259) | −0.1 (0.8) (n=175) | −0.2 (0.7) (n=581) | −0.2 (0.7) (n=112) | 0.391 |
| Male sex | % (n/N) | 48.8% (127/260) | 45.5% (80/176) | 47.9% (280/584) | 50.0% (56/112) | 0.451 |
| Multiple birth | % (n/N) | 25.8% (67/260) | 29.0% (51/176) | 22.1% (129/584) | 24.1% (27/112) | 0.365 |
| Ethnicity | ||||||
| White | % (n/N) | 73.4% (190/259) | 78.9% (138/175) | 62.9% (363/577) | 55.5% (61/110) | <0.001 |
| Asian | % (n/N) | 7.3% (19/259) | 5.7% (10/175) | 10.6% (61/577) | 19.1% (21/110) | |
| Black | % (n/N) | 17.4% (45/259) | 14.9% (26/175) | 22.0% (127/577) | 20.9% (23/110) | |
| Other | % (n/N) | 1.9% (5/259) | 0.6% (1/175) | 4.5% (26/577) | 4.5% (5/110) | |
| Maternal age at delivery | Mean (SD) | 28.5 (5.9) (n=259) | 28.8 (5.7) (n=175) | 29.4 (6.4) (n=584) | 30.8 (5.7) (n=112) | 0.006 |
| Breast milk at any time | % (n/N) | 85.0% (221/260) | 86.4% (152/176) | 96.1% (560/583) | 100.0% (112/112) | <0.001 |
| Parenteral nutrition- amino acids begun before day 7 | % (n/N) | 95.6% (238/249) | 95.2% (160/168) | 99.7% (581/583) | 100.0% (111/111) | 0.024 |
| Days to amino acids after birth | Median (range) | 3 (0–32) (n=249) | 3 (0–32) (n=168) | 2 (0–14) (n=583) | 2 (0–14) (n=111) | <0.001 |
| Parenteral nutrition- lipids begun before day 7 | % (n/N) | 85.1% (200/235) | 86.3% (138/160) | 98.3% (568/578) | 99.1% (110/111) | <0.001 |
| Days to lipids after birth | Median (range) | 3 (0–33) (n=235) | 3 (0–33) (n=160) | 2 (0–14) (n=578) | 2 (0–8) (n=111) | <0.001 |
| Enteral feeding begun before day 7 | % (n/N) | 47.6% (121/254) | 49.1% (84/171) | 82.2% (480/584) | 86.6% (97/112) | <0.001 |
| Days to enteral feeding after birth | Median (range) | 8 (2–43) (n=254) | 8 (2–41) (n=171) | 3 (0–31) (n=584) | 3 (0–24) (n=112) | <0.001 |
| Antenatal systemic steroids | % (n/N) | 79.9% (207/259) | 82.3% (144/175) | 87.9% (509/579) | 88.4% (99/112) | 0.161 |
| Postnatal systemic steroids | % (n/N) | 71.4% (185/259) | 71.4% (125/175) | 20.4% (119/584) | 24.1% (27/112) | <0.001 |
| IMD at birth | Mean (SD) | – | – | 4.2 (2.9) (n=581) | 4.3 (2.7) (n=111) | – |
| IMD at 11 years | Mean (SD) | – | 5.1 (2.8) (n=174) | – | 4.9 (2.8) (n=111) | 0.604 |
| Age assessed at infancy | Mean (SD) | 2.5 (0.1) (n=235) | 2.5 (0.1) (n=171) | 2.9 (0.4) (n=325) | 2.9 (0.3) (n=88) | <0.001 |
| Age assessed at 11 years | Mean (SD) | – | 10.9 (0.4) (n=176) | – | 11.9 (0.5) (n=112) | <0.001 |
IMD, Index of Multiple Deprivation.