Increased risk of pulmonary hypertension following premature birth

Preterm birth has previously been linked to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in children and adults [1]. PAH is a multifactorial disease and may have several origins, such as congenital heart disease (CHD); chronic lung disease (CLD), such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD); genetic predepositions; or vascular growth factors. Surfactant and antenatal corticosteroid treatments have been in clinical use in Sweden since the early 1990s. This has reduced the incidence of respiratory morbidity and mortality among children born prematurely [2, 3]. However, long-term impairments of lung function, airway obstruction, and structural impairments of gas transfer and pulmonary function remain [4, 5]. In previous studies, we found that the risk of PAH several years after birth for children born prematurely has increased over time, even when known risk factors such as CLD, BPD and CHD are adjusted for [6, 7]. The aim of this study was to assess the risk of PAH following exposure to preterm birth and other known risk factors over several decades and to assess the impact of the introduction of external surfactant and antenatal corticosteroids.

This population-based national case-control registry study assessed neonatal risk factors for children and young adults with pulmonary hypertension compared to healthy controls. The study is based on registry data, and individual informed consent from each participant is not required due to a waiver from the ethical committee and national guidelines.

Surviving preterm birth was associated with PAH among children older than five years and adults. This risk did not alter after adjustment for known risk factors. A history of pulmonary neonatal diseases was also associated with pulmonary hypertension when growing up. The risk of developing PAH was increased for several five-year birth cohorts, although the confidence intervals were large. Being born prematurely was much more common among cases belonging to later birth cohorts.

In Sweden, preterm birth occurs in 6% of infants each year. Children who were born in the 1970s seldom survived a premature birth at gestational ages at which we now expect almost 100% survival rates [11]. Neonatal deaths have decreased from nearly 8% in 1973 to 1.6% in Sweden today [11]. This study thus covers a period of great advances in neonatal care. Factors such as antenatal corticosteroid treatment for women at risk of preterm delivery and surfactant for newborns have been proven to induce fetal pulmonary maturation and reduce respiratory morbidity and mortality [2, 3, 12‐14]. Surfactant and antenatal corticosteroids have been in clinical use in Sweden since the early 1990s and 1980s, respectively. In our study, the risk of developing pulmonary hypertension was greater for a child born in the 2000s than for one born in the 1970s or 1980s. This difference can be explained by the greater survival rates due to advances in neonatal care. The risk of developing PAH for a child born premature during the 1970s and 1980s who reached adulthood must be regarded as less likely than today, mainly because many children did not survive the neonatal period during these years.

The clinical pattern of BPD has changed during the surfactant era, affecting smaller and more immature infants. The overall incidence of any form of acute lung disease in a newborn is approximately 3%, and it increases with decreasing gestational age and birthweight [15]. Reduced pulmonary function has been associated with low birthweights and preterm birth, and in a recent study, an association with prenatal exposures was discussed [16]. Airflow limitation, along with impaired exercise capacity and systolic function of the right ventricle, is present in adolescents and young adults who survive preterm birth, even in cases of mild lung diseases [17‐21].

Premature birth has been reported by others as common among children with PAH (14–21.8%) and even more common when a pulmonary disease is related to the PAH diagnosis [22, 23]. Premature birth was present in cases as well as controls. The overall rate of 6% for premature birth in Sweden has not changed for several decades [9]. The proportion of premature births among the controls was in line with what was expected. In our study, premature birth was more than three times higher among cases than controls, and in the most recent birth year cohorts, the difference was even greater. Our study strengthens the hypothesis that exposure to premature birth increases the risk of PAH, but the underlying reasons for this effect are still unknown. Several factors, in addition to exposure to premature birth, may influence the risk of PAH as growing up. The study group was too small to assess whether there is an association between lower gestational age and premature birth.

Angiogenesis has been shown to be necessary for alveolarization during normal lung development [24]. The expression of growth factors, as well as the lung response to hypoxia, has been linked to lung diseases such as persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) [25]. Pulmonary vascular growth during fetal and neonatal life is dependent on endothelial cells, numerous growth factors and cytokines, of which vascular endothelial growth factors are the most important [24, 26‐30]. Vascular growth is driven by endothelial vascular cells, forming stable connections and cellular rearrangements during sprouting, anastomosis, lumen formation, and functional remodeling of the vascular network [31, 32]. However, animal studies show that once blood flow is established, the pruning and growth ends [33]. The transition to extrauterine circulation involves increasing oxygen saturation to nearly normal levels and establishing an 8- to 10-fold increase in pulmonary blood flow [34, 35]. Altered pulmonary artery thickness and stiffness have been reported in prematurely born children, indicating that vascular impairment is part of the BPD pathology [36, 37].

We speculate that the discontinuation of normal lung vascularization in premature birth has an adverse impact on the vascular development of the infant’s lungs and on future growth. This may induce stress on the myocardium, causing PAH to occur later in life as the individual is exposed to other factors that further impair heart function. Evidence of echocardiographic myocardial changes has recently been found in preterm children at one year of age, but further studies of pulmonary vascular maturation in relation to cardiac function are needed [38]. Medical treatments that influence pulmonary vascular growth may be the next step in neonatal care advancement.

Matching cases and controls by year and birth hospital reduced the risk of selection bias due to differences in medical care and survival rates. To increase power, we choose to match six controls to each case.

Cardiovascular malformations, as well as chromosomal abnormalities, include heterogeneous conditions; they are more common among preterm infants than term-born infants and are also known risk factors for PAH [39, 40]. By adjusting for CHD and chromosomal abnormalities, we ruled out this confounding factor in our study. To test this hypothesis, we performed additional analyses excluding children with chromosomal abnormalities or excluding the variable chromosomal abnormalities; these exclusions did not alter the results.

There is always the risk of the misclassification of diagnosis when using registers. We believe that the potential bias of cases is small in our study as all adult cases were retrieved from the SPAHR, which includes patients according to the Dana Point classification [41, 42], and the SWEDCON register, which recently has been validated and showed good concordance between register data and medical records [8].

Preterm birth, along with other factors, significantly contributes to the development of PAH. Previously, CHD, pulmonary diseases and other factors have been linked to PAH in children and young adults who were born preterm. By adjusting for previously known risk factors, our study indicates that new, yet undefined and unknown factors may play a role in the risk of PAH development in later life among those born preterm. In this paper, we discuss some hypotheses to be tested in future studies.