Prevalence of extreme preterm, very and moderate to late preterm births and their association with risk factors – in a South Indian cohort

Given the exponential rise in preterm births around the globe, this study aims to know prevalence of overall preterm births and among different categories as well as to analyse the risk factors responsible for preterm birth in different categories. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Dr. Prabhakar Kore Charitable Hospital, Belagavi from June 2021 to May 2022. The risk factors were classified into extreme preterm, very preterm and moderate to late preterm. Chi-square test was used to check the dependency between categorical variables. Odds ratio was calculated for knowing the association of different risk factors with type of preterm birth. Among 3413 women, there were 588 (17.67%) preterm births. 479(81.46%) were in moderate to late preterm category, 71 (12.07%) were very preterm and 38(6.46%) were extremely preterm. Odds of extreme preterm for maternal single kidney, congenital anomalies, covid infection, fetal growth restriction, preeclampsia, still birth, hypothyroidism were 65.68 [95% CI: 3.09-1393.85], 10.22[ 95% CI: 3.08 -33.94], 7.93 [95% CI: 2.21-28.44], 2.83 [95% CI: 1.37-5.90], 2.42[95% CI:1.42-4.10], 2.16 [95% CI: 1.13 -4.13], 3.14 [95% CI: 1.5-6.35], 1.86 [95% CI: 0.94-3.73] respectively when compared with moderate to late preterm group. The prevalence of preterm birth was 17.6%. The risk factors should be controlled in pre conceptional period and early pregnancy to reduce preterm births.