Are preterm infants at risk for subsequent fractures?

the prevalence of low gestation (<37 or <33 weeks) was not increased in 362 children under 6 years presenting to casualty with fractures compared with that in 362 children presenting without fractures or in all inborn surviving babies. These data are relevant to the assessment of suspected child abuse after preterm birth. Metabolic bone disease is common in preterm infants,l and is associated with decreased bone mineral content and an increased risk of fractures in the neonatal period.2 There is little information, however, on the persistence of reduced bone mineralisation, and whether early bone disease results in an increased risk of fractures in childhood. Such information would be of importance bot