title: Decreased developmental stability as assessed by fluctuating asymmetry of morphometric traits in preterm infants.
abstract: Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of 8 morphometric traits was studied in 113 preterm infants (26-36 wk of gestation), 103 term infants (37-41 wk), and their respective parents. With 3 different measures of FA, the highest values were obtained from extremely preterm infants (26-29 wk), and the lowest from the group of term infants. The estimates of FA values among parents, particularly mothers, showed a similar, albeit less pronounced, trend. Multiple regression analysis of individual mean FA values, calculated in infants for the 8 studied bilateral traits, documented a significant inverse correlation with gestational age and with the health status of the infants and their mothers, as well as a positive correlation with the mothers' mean FA values.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Beilinson Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Livshits
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Davidi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kobyliansky
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ben-Amitai
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Levi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Merlob
mesh_terms: D000886:Anthropometry; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012641:Selection, Genetic