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dc.contributor.authorMohangoo, Ashna D.-
dc.contributor.authorBlondel, Béatrice-
dc.contributor.authorGissler, Mika-
dc.contributor.authorVelebil, Petr-
dc.contributor.authorMacfarlane, Alison-
dc.contributor.authorZeitlin, Jennifer-
dc.date.accessioned2019-12-05T14:57:30Z-
dc.date.available2019-12-05T14:57:30Z-
dc.date.issued2013-
dc.identifier.citationMohangoo, A. D., Blondel, B., Gissler, M., Velebil, P., Macfarlane, A., Zeitlin, J., & Euro-Peristat Scientific Committee. (2013). International comparisons of fetal and neonatal mortality rates in high-income countries: should exclusion thresholds be based on birth weight or gestational age?. PloS One, 8(5), 1-7.en_GB
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203-
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/49440-
dc.description.abstractBackground: Fetal and neonatal mortality rates are essential indicators of population health, but variations in recording of births and deaths at the limits of viability compromises international comparisons. The World Health Organization recommends comparing rates after exclusion of births with a birth weight less than 1000 grams, but many analyses of perinatal outcomes are based on gestational age. We compared the effects of using a 1000-gram birth weight or a 28-week gestational age threshold on reported rates of fetal and neonatal mortality in Europe. Methods: Aggregated data from 2004 on births and deaths tabulated by birth weight and gestational age from 29 European countries/regions participating in the Euro-Peristat project were used to compute fetal and neonatal mortality rates using cut-offs of 1000-grams and 28-weeks (2.8 million total births). We measured differences in rates between and within countries using the Wilcoxon signed rank test and 95% confidence intervals, respectively. Principal Findings: For fetal mortality, rates based on gestational age were significantly higher than those based on birth weight (p,0.001), although these differences varied between countries. The use of a 1000-gram threshold included 8823 fetal deaths compared with 9535 using a 28-week threshold (difference of 712). In contrast, the choice of a cut-off made little difference for comparisons of neonatal deaths (difference of 16). Neonatal mortality rates differed minimally, by under 0.1 per 1000 in most countries (p = 0.370). Country rankings were comparable with both thresholds. Conclusions: Neonatal mortality rates were not affected by the choice of a threshold. However, the use of a 1000-gram threshold underestimated the health burden of fetal deaths. This may in part reflect the exclusion of growth restricted fetuses. In high-income countries with a good measure of gestational age, using a 28-week threshold may provide additional valuable information about fetal deaths occurring in the third trimester.en_GB
dc.language.isoenen_GB
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_GB
dc.rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessen_GB
dc.subjectGestational ageen_GB
dc.subjectNewborn infants -- Deathen_GB
dc.subjectBirth weighten_GB
dc.titleInternational comparisons of fetal and neonatal mortality rates in high-income countries : should exclusion thresholds be based on birth weight or gestational age?en_GB
dc.typearticleen_GB
dc.rights.holderThe copyright of this work belongs to the author(s)/publisher. The rights of this work are as defined by the appropriate Copyright Legislation or as modified by any successive legislation. Users may access this work and can make use of the information contained in accordance with the Copyright Legislation provided that the author must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the prior permission of the copyright holderen_GB
dc.description.reviewedpeer-revieweden_GB
dc.publication.titlePloS Oneen_GB
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