Short-term benefits of catch-up growth for small-for-gestational-age infants

Background Recent studies suggest that small newborns who present rapid postnatal growth may have an increased risk of chronic diseases in adulthood. On the other hand, it is widely assumed that catch-up growth is desirable for low birthweight children, but the literature on this subject is limited....

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of epidemiology 2001-12, Vol.30 (6), p.1325-1330
Main Authors: Victora, Cesar G, Barros, Fernando C, Horta, Bernardo L, Martorell, Reynaldo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis of Variance
Body Weight
Brazil
Child, Preschool
Cohort Studies
cohort study
Developing Countries
Female
Growth
Health Status Indicators
hospitalization
Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Infant
Infant Mortality
Infant, Low Birth Weight
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Small for Gestational Age - growth & development
Male
mortality
Risk Factors
small for gestational age
Socioeconomic Factors
Weight Gain
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background Recent studies suggest that small newborns who present rapid postnatal growth may have an increased risk of chronic diseases in adulthood. On the other hand, it is widely assumed that catch-up growth is desirable for low birthweight children, but the literature on this subject is limited. Methods Population-based cohort study in southern Brazil, with 3582 children examined at birth, 20 and 42 months of age. Catch-up growth from 0 to 20 months was related to subsequent risks of hospital admissions and mortality. Results Children who were small-for-gestational-age (SGA) but presented substantial weight gain (≥0.66 z-score) up to the age of 20 months had 65% fewer subsequent hospital admissions than other SGA children (5.6% versus 16.0%; P < 0.001). Mortality to age 5 years was 75% lower (3 versus 13 per 1000, a non-significant difference based on a small number of deaths) for rapid-growing SGA children compared to the remaining SGA children. Their admission and mortality rates were similar to those observed for children born with an appropriate birthweight for their gestational age (AGA). Similar positive effects of rapid growth were found for AGA children. Conclusion There appear to be definite benefits associated with catch-up growth. Growth promotion efforts for infants who are born small should take into account their possible short- and long-term consequences.
ISSN:0300-5771
1464-3685
DOI:10.1093/ije/30.6.1325