Preterm birth (< 37 weeks gestation) has been associated with memory deficits, which has prompted investigation of possible alterations in hippocampal volume in this population. However, existing literature reports varying effects of premature birth on hippocampal volume. Specifically, it is unclear whether smaller hippocampal volume in preterm-born individuals is merely reflective of smaller total brain volume. Further, it is not clear if hippocampal volume is associated with episodic memory functioning in preterm-born individuals. Meta-analysis was used to investigate the effects of premature birth on hippocampal volume and episodic memory from early development to young adulthood (birth to 26). PubMed, PsychINFO, and Web of Science were searched for English peer-reviewed articles that included hippocampal volume of preterm and term-born individuals. Thirty articles met the inclusion criteria. Separate meta-analyses were used to evaluate standardized mean differences between preterm and term-born individuals in uncorrected and corrected hippocampal volume, as well as verbal and visual episodic memory. Both uncorrected and corrected hippocampal volume were smaller in preterm-born compared to term-born individuals. Although preterm-born individuals had lower episodic memory performance than term-born individuals, the limited number of studies only permitted a qualitative review of the association between episodic memory performance and hippocampal volume. Tested moderators included mean age, pre/post-surfactant era, birth weight, gestational age, demarcation method, magnet strength, and slice thickness. With this meta-analysis, we provide novel evidence of the effects of premature birth on hippocampal volume.

早产（< 37 周妊娠）与记忆缺陷有关，这促使人们对该人群的海马体体积可能发生的改变进行调查。然而，现有文献报道了早产对海马体积的不同影响。具体而言，尚不清楚早产儿海马体体积较小是否仅反映了总脑体积较小。此外，尚不清楚海马体积是否与早产个体的情景记忆功能相关。荟萃分析用于研究早产对从早期发育到青年期（出生至 26 岁）的海马体体积和情景记忆的影响。PubMed, PsychINFO, 和 Web of Science 搜索英文同行评审文章，其中包括早产和足月出生个体的海马体积。三十篇文章符合纳入标准。单独的荟萃分析用于评估未矫正和矫正海马体积以及语言和视觉情景记忆中早产和足月出生个体之间的标准化平均差异。与足月出生的个体相比，早产儿的未矫正和矫正海马体体积均较小。尽管早产儿的情景记忆表现低于足月出生的个体，但有限数量的研究仅允许对情景记忆表现与海马体积之间的关联进行定性审查。测试的调节剂包括平均年龄、前/后表面活性剂时代、出生体重、胎龄、分界方法、磁体强度和切片厚度。通过这项荟萃分析，我们提供了早产对海马体积影响的新证据。