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Cardiovascular Health Assessment of Preterm- and TERm-born Children

Conditions
Premature Birth
Registration Number
NCT05698836
Lead Sponsor
University of Oxford
Brief Summary

The purpose of the CHAPTER study is to help understand how complications during pregnancy, such as preterm birth, affect how childrens' hearts and blood vessels develop.

Detailed Description

Young adults born preterm (less than 37 weeks gestation) have alterations in the structure and function of the heart, with similar changes observed in preterm infants in the first three months of life. It is unknown whether these early changes in the heart seen in the first few months of life are relevant to long-term changes in heart structure and function. Heart changes have also not been well studied in children born preterm. To investigate this, the study will follow up children from the EPOCH study and will perform two study visits for each child (n=100 preterm and n=100 term) that will use echocardiography and cardiovascular magnetic resonance. Individuals in the EPOCH study had echocardiography measures done at birth and three months postnatal age. It will therefore be possible to do longitudinal echocardiography measures from birth up to ages 12 years to determine whether postnatal heart changes in preterm infants track into childhood. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance will allow for the determination of whether these early heart changes influence heart pump function. Finally, by measuring lung function, blood vessel structure and function, and blood pressure, it will be possible to determine how heart changes relate to other components of the cardiovascular system. This data will be used to confirm the relevance of early heart remodelling in preterm-born offspring over time and provide more comprehensive heart phenotyping for preterm-born children. Together, this information can be used to design future intervention strategies in preterm-born individuals to reduce cardiovascular risk in this growing subgroup of the population.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
200
Inclusion Criteria
  • Participant's parent or legal guardian gives consent and the participant, where age-appropriate, gives assent for participation in the study.
  • Participant is male or female, aged 3-9 years at enrolment.
  • Participant previously took part in the EPOCH study, or the participant's friend or sibling took part.
Exclusion Criteria
  • Evidence of congenital heart disease or significant chronic disease relevant to cardiovascular or metabolic status

For exclusion of MRI component only:

  • Contraindication to MRI
  • Unsuitable for MRI based on the responses to the MRI screening form

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Cardiac left ventricular mass3-5 years of age OR 8-12 years of age; AND 6-9 years of age

Echocardiography assessment of left ventricular mass indexed to body surface area (in g and g/m\^2)

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Cardiac right ventricular systolic function3-5 years of age OR 8-12 years of age; AND 6-9 years of age

Echocardiography assessment of right ventricular systolic function: tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (in cm)

Cardiac left ventricular diastolic function3-5 years of age OR 8-12 years of age; AND 6-9 years of age

Echocardiography assessment of right ventricular (RV) diastolic function: RV Doppler early/late diastolic tricuspid inflow velocity ratio (E/A)

Cardiac right ventricular diastolic function3-5 years of age OR 8-12 years of age; AND 6-9 years of age

Echocardiography assessment of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function: LV Doppler early/late diastolic mitral inflow

Morphology of the left ventricles6-9 years of age

MRI assessment of the left ventricles morphology using cardiac statistical atlas and principal component analysis

Morphology of the right ventricles6-9 years of age

MRI assessment of the right ventricles morphology using cardiac statistical atlas and principal component analysis

Cardiac flow dynamics of the left ventricle6-9 years of age

MRI assessment of direct flow, delayed ejection flow, retained inflow, residual volume kinetic energy flow components at end diastole (measured at end diastole in mJ and overall % contribution)

Systolic blood pressure measurement3-5 years of age OR 8-12 years of age; AND 6-9 years of age

Resting brachial blood pressure measurement (in mmHg)

Diastolic blood pressure measurement3-5 years of age OR 8-12 years of age; AND 6-9 years of age

Resting brachial blood pressure measurement (in mmHg)

Cardiac right ventricular mass3-5 years of age OR 8-12 years of age; AND 6-9 years of age

Echocardiography assessment of right ventricular mass indexed to body surface area (in g and g/m\^2)

Lung function6-9 years of age

The forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1 in L), forced vital capacity (FVC in L), and the ratio of FEV1 to FVC (FEV1/FVC) measured using spirometry

Cardiac left ventricular end-diastolic volume3-5 years of age OR 8-12 years of age; AND 6-9 years of age

Echocardiography assessment of cardiac left ventricular end-diastolic volume indexed to body surface area (in ml and ml/m\^2)

Cardiac right ventricular end-diastolic volume3-5 years of age OR 8-12 years of age; AND 6-9 years of age

Echocardiography assessment of cardiac right ventricular end-diastolic volume indexed to body surface area (in ml and ml/m\^2)

Cardiac left ventricular systolic function3-5 years of age OR 8-12 years of age; AND 6-9 years of age

Echocardiography assessment of left ventricular systolic function: left ventricular ejection fraction (in %)

Mean arterial pressure3-5 years of age OR 8-12 years of age; AND 6-9 years of age

The average arterial pressure from resting brachial blood pressure measurement (in mmHg)

Retinal arteriolar structure6-9 years of age

Central retinal arteriolar equivalent (CRAE in μm) measured using retinal imaging

Retinal venular structure6-9 years of age

Central retinal venular equivalent (CRVE in μm) measured using retinal imaging

Retinal arteriolar-to-venular diameter ratio (AVR)6-9 years of age

The ratio of average retinal arteriolar diameter (CRAE in μm) and average retinal venous diameter (CRVE in μm) measured using retinal imaging

Objective measure of physical activity3-5 years of age OR 8-12 years of age; AND 6-9 years of age

The amount of moderate to vigorous physical activity (in h/week) and vigorous physical activity (in h/week) measured using wrist worn accelerometer

Body weight3-5 years of age OR 8-12 years of age; AND 6-9 years of age

Body weight measured in kg

Body height3-5 years of age OR 8-12 years of age; AND 6-9 years of age

Body weight measured in m

Body mass index3-5 years of age OR 8-12 years of age; AND 6-9 years of age

Body weight divided by the square of height (in kg/m2)

Mid-arm circumference3-5 years of age OR 8-12 years of age; AND 6-9 years of age

Mid-arm circumference measured in cm

Waist-to-hip ratio3-5 years of age OR 8-12 years of age; AND 6-9 years of age

The ratio of waist circumference (in cm) to hip circumference (in cm)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Oxford

🇬🇧

Oxford, United Kingdom

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