ISSN: 2165-8048
Jenny Svedenkrans*
"Preterm birth implicates an increased risk of neonatal morbidity and mortality, but also of long-term consequences such as increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Fetal and neonatal programming is thought to be an important factor in this development; however environmental factors later in life may also affect the outcome on an individual level. Subgroups of children born extremely preterm exhibit lower levels of physical activity than children born at term, which could be a link in the development of cardiovascular diseases. Further studies are needed to investigate if interventions to increase physical activity could improve long term outcome in this vulnerable group."