Existing prenatal test could be used to predict the risk of preterm birth

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-04-16 04:00

International

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International researchers have developed a computer model that could help predict the risk of preterm birth using the sample taken for existing prenatal testing. Using data from 2,590 pregnancies, including 518 preterm, the researchers trained their model using plasma cell-free DNA samples which are already assessed via blood test to check for conditions including Down Syndrome. The model was able to predict preterm births with a good level of accuracy, which means standard prenatal testing could potentially provide an opportunity for a non-invasive test to predict preterm birth in the future, the team says.

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Predicting preterm birth

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Journal/
conference: PLOS Medicine

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: South China University of Technology, China

Funder: This work was supported by project grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [81600404 to JT, 82270600 to JT, 81871177 to FY, 82271711 to XY, 82173001 to ZG]; Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation [2022A1515220204 to JT; 2024A1515012792 to ZG]; Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Molecular and Functional Imaging for Clinical Translation [201905010003 to JT]; The Research Foundation of Guangdong Provincial Reproductive Science Institute [QD202201 to JT]. No funders had any role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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