Abstract
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between perinatal asphyxia, neonatal encephalopathy, and childhood hearing impairment. This is a population-based study including all Norwegian infants born ≥ 36 weeks gestation between 1999 and 2014 and alive at 2 years (n = 866,232). Data was linked from five national health registries with follow-up through 2019. Perinatal asphyxia was defined as need for neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission and an Apgar 5-min score of 4–6 (moderate) or 0–3 (severe). We coined infants with seizures and an Apgar 5-min score < 7 as neonatal encephalopathy with seizures. Infants who received therapeutic hypothermia were considered to have moderate-severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). The reference group for comparisons were non-admitted infants with Apgar 5-min score ≥ 7. We used logistic regression models and present data as adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The aOR for hearing impairment was increased in all infants admitted to NICU: moderate asphyxia aOR 2.2 (95% CI 1.7–2.9), severe asphyxia aOR 5.2 (95% CI 3.6–7.5), neonatal encephalopathy with seizures aOR 7.0 (95% CI 2.6–19.0), and moderate-severe HIE aOR 10.7 (95% CI 5.3–22.0). However, non-admitted infants with Apgar 5-min scores < 7 did not have increased OR of hearing impairment. The aOR for hearing impairment for individual Apgar 5-min scores in NICU infants increased with decreasing Apgar scores and was 13.6 (95% CI 5.9–31.3) when the score was 0.
Conclusions: An Apgar 5-min score < 7 in combination with NICU admission is an independent risk factor for hearing impairment. Children with moderate-severe HIE had the highest risk for hearing impairment.
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What is Known:
• Perinatal asphyxia and neonatal encephalopathy are associated with an increased risk of hearing impairment.
• The strength of the association, and how other co-morbidities affect the risk of hearing impairment, is poorly defined.
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What is New:
• Among neonates admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), decreased Apgar 5-min scores, and increased severity of neonatal encephalopathy, were associated with a gradual rise in risk of hearing impairment.
• Neonates with an Apgar 5-min score 7, but without NICU admission, did not have an increased risk of hearing impairment.
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