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Prenatal opioid exposure impacts respiratory outcomes within the first 5 years of life
The opioid epidemic has adversely affected neonates and children; but the scope and mechanisms of these affects are not well understood. Failure to understand the impact of prenatal opioid exposure on long term adverse health outcomes could lead to gaps in care for this population. The purpose of this study is to investigate the association of prenatal opioid exposure with the development of adverse respiratory health outcomes, both acute and chronic. We propose that prenatal exposure leads to increased odds of development of childhood asthma, respiratory distress, apnea, and bronchiolitis. This is a retrospective cohort study using the PearlDiver Mariner database and a simple match design. Records from preterm and full-term infants exposed to opioids in utero are analyzed separately for the development of adverse health outcomes. Our preliminary results indicate that opioid exposure in utero results in preterm birth. In full-term infant births, opioid exposure leads to increased odds for developing respiratory distress (OR = 7.54), bronchiolitis (OR = 4.12) and apnea (OR = 1.58). Lastly, diagnoses for adverse respiratory outcomes were earlier in full-term opioid exposed infants than in their unexposed controls. The significance of this study is that it will encourage closer monitoring of full-term infants who are exposed to opioids in utero for specific respiratory outcomes and provide conceptual grounding for future mechanistic studies.