Very preterm birth results in later lower platelet activation markers

BACKGROUND Premature birth entails an adverse cardiovascular risk profile, but the underlying mechanisms are insufficiently understood. Here, we employed an unbiased cardiovascular proteomics approach to profile former very preterm-born preschoolers. METHODS This observational study investigated differences in plasma concentrations of 79 proteins, including putative cardiovascular biomarkers between very preterm- and term-born children on average 5.5 years old (53.1% male) using multiple-reaction monitoring mass spectrometry. RESULTS Very preterm-born (n = 38; median gestational age 29.6 weeks) compared to term-born (n = 26; 40.2 weeks) children featured lower plasma concentrations of platelet factor 4 (PLF4; -61.6%, P