一項最新研究發現，早產是美國嬰兒死亡最主要的原因，至少占2002年所有嬰兒死亡的三分之一。

美國疾病預防和控制中心(CDC, Atlanta, GA, USA)的研究人員鑒別出導致嬰兒死亡的前20位原因--小于1歲--在2002年使用了美國-相關出生/嬰兒死亡數據庫。他們評估了早產死亡因的比例，考慮早產和特定死亡原因之間的生物學聯系。在有記錄的27,970例2002年相關死亡文件中，前20種原因導致了22,273例死亡，或者說導致了80%的嬰兒死亡。在前20類死亡中，早產嬰兒總計9,596 (34.3%)，其中95%在妊娠32周前出生，體重小于1,500克。三分之二的死亡發生在出生后24小時。

Premature Birth Is Cause of Many Infant Deaths
 
A new study finds that preterm birth is the leading cause of infant mortality in the United States, accounting for at least a third of all babies' deaths in 2002.

Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, Atlanta, GA, USA) identified the top 20 leading causes of death in infants--less than one year of age--in 2002 using the U.S.-linked birth/infant death data set. They assessed the contribution of preterm birth to each cause by determining the proportion of infants who were born preterm for each cause of death, and by considering the biologic connection between preterm birth and the specific cause of death. Of the 27,970 recorded deaths in the linked file for 2002, the 20 leading causes accounted for 22,273 deaths, or 80% of all infant deaths. Deaths of preterm infants in the top 20 categories totaled 9,596 (34.3%), 95% of whom were born before 32 weeks gestational age and weighed less than 1,500 g. Two-thirds of the deaths in preterm infants occurred in the first 24 hours of life.