This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Luo, Z.-C.
Right arrow Articles by Karlberg, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Luo, Z.-C.
Right arrow Articles by Karlberg, J.
Related Collections
Right arrow Premature & Newborn

PEDIATRICS Vol. 102 No. 6 December 1998, p. e72

ELECTRONIC ARTICLE:
Length and Body Mass Index at Birth and Target Height Influences on Patterns of Postnatal Growth in Children Born Small for Gestational Age

Received Mar 20, 1998; accepted Jul 9, 1998.

Zhong-Cheng Luo*, Kerstin Albertsson-WiklandDagger , and Johan Karlberg*

From the * Department of Pediatrics, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China, and Dagger  International Pediatric Growth Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Goteborg, Sweden.

Objective.  Previous growth studies on children born small for gestational age (SGA) indicate that birth length, weight, and target height are important predictors for postnatal catch-up growth in SGA. Their influences on different phases of catch-up growth are still not described. The aim of this study was to clarify the influences of target height, length, and nutritional status at birth on different phases of postnatal catch-up growth (infancy, childhood, puberty) in SGA and the long-term consequences.

Methods.  Data were obtained from a longitudinal population-based growth study on Swedish children (N = 2815). Primary outcome measurements include heights, the changes in height standard deviation scores (SDS) during various phases of growth and relative risk for adult shortness.

Results.  The difference in final height in children born SGA was attributable to their difference in target height and the magnitude of catch-up growth during the first 6 months of life, rather than the difference in length or body mass index (BMI) at birth. Length at birth showed negative influence on catch-up growth during infancy (0 to 2 years of age), but no significant influence thereafter. The BMI or weight for length SDS at birth showed no significant influence on catch-up growth during any growth phase. Target height showed positive influence on catch-up growth from the onset of childhood. Neither target height nor length and BMI at birth showed any significant influence on catch-up growth during puberty. The magnitude of catch-up growth during infancy, especially the first 6 months of life, is most critical in decreasing risk at adult shortness. We confirmed that the SGA group had a sevenfold greater risk for adult shortness than the non-SGA group (relative risk = 7.31; 95% confidence interval: 3.96-13.52). However, ~40% of children who were below -2 in height SDS at 2 years of age remained short at final height in both SGA and non-SGA groups. The mean height SDS of children born SGA increased by 1.65 from birth to final height, but the length deficit in centimeters at birth (-5.4 cm) persisted into adulthood (-5.9 cm).

Conclusions.  BMI at birth is not related to postnatal catch-up growth in infants born SGA, but birth length and target height are important. The genetic influence on catch-up growth appears to start from the onset of childhood. Being born short or becoming short during the first 2 years of life is similar in terms of risk for adult short stature.  Key words:  fetal growth retardation, body mass index, birth length, genetics, catch-up growth, short stature.