title: Growth patterns for infants weighing less than 801 grams at birth to 3 years of age.
abstract: Anthropometric measurements of infants weighing < 801 gm were monitored to evaluate growth patterns from birth to 36 months chronologic age, using both standard growth percentiles and Z score descriptors. Mean gestational age was 25.8 weeks, and birth weight was 708.4 gm. The infants had growth delay at hospital discharge with some catch-up growth occurring in the first year. Discrete changes in body growth using the Z score as a descriptor showed movement from a negative SD at 12 months toward the reference mean of zero at 36 months. However, mean length remained < 5th percentile, and mean weight was at approximately the 10th percentile for chronologic age. At 36 months 45% of infants had a head circumference smaller than the 5th percentile for chronologic age. Birth weight < 701 gm was a significant predictor of smaller occipital-frontal circumference at 3 years (p = 0.03). Interruption of intrauterine growth after extremely premature birth appears to have long-term effects on growth outcome much like prenatal growth retardation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Children's Mercy Hospital, University of Missouri-Kansas City.
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Daily
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Kilbride
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wheeler
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hassanein
mesh_terms: D000886:Anthropometry; D001724:Birth Weight; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006128:Growth; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male