Preterm birth and prescriptions for cardiovascular, antiseizure, antibiotics and antiasthmatic medication in children up to 10 years of age: a population-based data linkage cohort study across six European regions

Objectives Preterm children are exposed to many medications in neonatal intensive care units, but little is known about the effect of prematurity on medication use throughout infancy and childhood. We examined prescriptions of cardiovascular medication (CVM), antiseizure medication (ASM), antiasthmatic medication and antibiotics issued/dispensed in the first 10 years of life for very and moderately preterm children compared with term. Design Population-based data linkage cohort study linking information from birth records to prescription records. Setting Six registries from five countries in the EUROlinkCAT study. Participants The study population included 1 722 912 children, of whom 10 820 (0.6%) were very preterm (