Preterm birth, low birth weight, and medical comorbidities are risk factors for severe laryngomalacia in children

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics and the risk factors associated with severe laryngomalacia in children. Methods: In this study, the clinical data of children (0–18 years), including gender, age at presentation, preterm delivery, low birth weight, delivery mode, feeding mode, fetal delivery, medical comorbidities, maternal gestational age at presentation, and calcium supplementation during pregnancy, diagnosed with laryngomalacia between January 2013 and January 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. The children were divided into mild-moderate and severe groups. Several risk factors were compared and analyzed between the two groups. The statistically significant risk factors were included in the logistic regression analysis. Results: A total of 224 children with severe laryngomalacia were enrolled in this study. The ratio of male to female patients was 1.55: 1. All patients had severe laryngomalacia manifested by inspiratory laryngeal stridor. The average age of patients at symptom presentation was 2.7 (1.5–5.2) months. There were significant differences between the two groups in the age at presentation, premature delivery, low birth weight, medical comorbidities, and calcium supplementation during pregnancy ( P < 0.05 ). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that premature delivery (OR = 3.177, 95% CI:2.329–4.334), low birth weight (OR = 3.188, 95%CI:2.325–4.370), and medical comorbidities (OR = 1.434, 95% CI:1.076–1.909) were independent risk factors for severe laryngomalacia ( P < 0.05 ). Conclusion: Children with severe laryngomalacia exhibited persistent stridor at an earlier age at presentation. Premature delivery, low birth weight, and medical comorbidities were potential risk factors for severe laryngomalacia in children.