Almaghaslah Eman H, Al Ibrahim Israa, Al-Zahir Sakinah S, Al Saif Ahmed Z
Preventive Health, Qatif Health Network, First Eastern Cluster, Ministry of Health, Qatif, SAU.
Preventive Medicine, The Joint Program of Preventive Medicine, Al-Ahsa, SAU.
Cureus. 2024 Nov 27;16(11):e74562. doi: 10.7759/cureus.74562. eCollection 2024 Nov.
Preterm birth, defined as delivery before 37 weeks of gestation, is a significant contributor to neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Understanding the prevalence of preterm birth is critical to improving neonatal care, informing public health strategies, and supporting health care planning. The objective of this study was to explore the problem of preterm birth in Saudi Arabia by estimating the prevalence of preterm birth over a defined period of time. CINAHL, Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Database, Embase, and Medline were searched, limiting the search to the human Saudi population, with no date or language restriction. Titles, abstracts, and full texts were screened to determine eligibility for inclusion. Included studies were assessed for risk of bias utilizing the Let Evidence Guide Every New Decision (LEGEND) tool. Then, data were extracted in a customized data collection form. Among the 14 full texts reviewed, 10 studies met the eligibility criteria and were included in the final review, with a total of 50,514 participants for singletons and 336 sets of twins or/and high-order gestation in different regions of Saudi Arabia. Six studies have been entered into the meta-analysis and resulted in a pooled prevalence of preterm birth of 7.89 per 100 live births (95% confidence interval: 6.94 to 8.97). For multiple pregnancies, the average prevalence of preterm birth was 91.3 per 100 live births (95% confidence interval: 88.3 to 94.3). The overall preterm birth rate in Saudi Arabia can be utilized in national health planning and public health policy development. By knowing the prevalence of preterm birth, healthcare practitioners and policymakers can effectively plan for capacity building and healthcare services to provide efficient and proactive care for preterm infants, ultimately improving patient outcomes by reducing neonatal morbidity and mortality.
早产定义为妊娠37周前分娩，是全球新生儿发病和死亡的重要原因。了解早产的患病率对于改善新生儿护理、为公共卫生策略提供信息以及支持医疗保健规划至关重要。本研究的目的是通过估计特定时间段内早产的患病率来探讨沙特阿拉伯的早产问题。检索了护理学与健康领域数据库（CINAHL）、考科蓝妊娠与分娩数据库、荷兰医学文摘数据库（Embase）和医学期刊数据库（Medline），搜索范围限定为沙特阿拉伯人群，无日期或语言限制。对标题、摘要和全文进行筛选以确定是否符合纳入标准。使用“让证据指导每一项新决策”（LEGEND）工具对纳入研究的偏倚风险进行评估。然后，通过定制的数据收集表提取数据。在审查的14篇全文中，10项研究符合纳入标准并纳入最终审查，沙特阿拉伯不同地区共有50,514名单胎参与者以及336对双胞胎或/和多胎妊娠。6项研究纳入荟萃分析，结果显示早产的合并患病率为每100例活产7.89例（95%置信区间：6.94至8.97）。对于多胎妊娠，早产的平均患病率为每100例活产91.3例（95%置信区间：88.3至94.3）。沙特阿拉伯的总体早产率可用于国家卫生规划和公共卫生政策制定。通过了解早产的患病率，医疗从业者和政策制定者可以有效地规划能力建设和医疗服务，为早产婴儿提供高效和积极主动的护理，最终通过降低新生儿发病率和死亡率来改善患者结局。
