Burden of Prematurity-Associated Recurrent Wheezing: Caregiver Missed Work in the D-Wheeze Trial

OBJECTIVE: This study describes the burden of prematurity-associated wheezing in black infants with respect to caregiver missed work. STUDY DESIGN: We analyzed data from the D-Wheeze trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01601847). Black infants between 28-0/7 to 36-6/7 weeks’ gestational age at birth receiving <28 days of supplemental oxygen were enrolled. The primary outcome was missed work to care for the infant in the first year. RESULTS: 147/277 (53.1%) infants had caregivers who reported time off. In an adjusted model, vitamin D supplementation (OR 0.52 [95% CI 0.30 - 0.89]; P = 0.018), recurrent wheeze (OR 2.26 [95% CI, 1.15 - 4.44]; P = 0.018), and other children in the household <5 years old (OR 0.45 [95% CI 0.26 - 0.78]; p = 0.004) were significantly associated with caregiver missed work. CONCLUSIONS: Black premature infants had a significant burden of caregiver missed work, emphasizing the impact of prematurity-associated wheezing.