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Epidemiology
Infant respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS) is the leading cause of death in premature infants. Despite only 1% of all birth complications being attributed to respiratory distress syndrome, there is a significantly higher prevalence in prematurely born babies. Incidence rates of IRDS in premature infants born at 30 weeks of gestational age (GA) are at 50%, and rise even higher to 93% for infants born prematurely at 28 weeks of gestational age or younger. IRDS is diagnosed within hours of delivery and usually leads to morbidity and mortality in preterm infants. There are many risk factors that can potentially cause IRDS. The most common risks factors that can potentially cause IRDS include male gender, white race, late preterm delivery, maternal diabetes, perinatal hypoxia (exposure to low oxygen) and ischemia (decreased blood flow), and low birth weight. Seventy percent of babies diagnosed with respiratory distress syndrome are born between 29 and 34 weeks of gestational age and are 55% more likely to be male. A study conducted at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network studied premature infants born between 22 to 37 weeks and the outcomes leading to IRDS. This study was conducted from 2002 to 2008. The incidence rate of IRDS for 24 weeks was 98%, for 34 weeks the incidence is 5%, and for 37 weeks the incidence rate was less than 1%. The results demonstrate that the incidence of IRDS increases with decreasing age at birth.

According to a study from the University of Miami's Department of Pediatrics and Division of Neonatology, from the time range of 2003 to 2014, respiratory distress syndrome prevalence jumped from 170 per 1000 preterm live births to 360 per 1000 preterm live births nationwide in the United States. This study population's duration under hospital care averaged 32 days in 2003, increasing by nearly a week to 38 days in 2014. Additionally, this study yielded average prevalence rates of 260 cases per 1000 livebirths from the years of 2003 to 2014, which coincided with the results yielded by a report from the Vermont Oxford Network in 2008 of 300 per 1000 livebirths.