Growth of infants during the first 18 months of life in urban and rural areas of southern China.
OBJECTIVE
Observe the growth pattern of infants from birth to 18 months.


METHODS
A prospective study was conducted from 1994 to 1996 in urban and township-rural areas of Guangdong Province, southern China, recruiting 568 and 257 newborn infants, respectively. Anthropometric data was collected at birth, 1.5, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, and 18 months.


RESULTS
The urban infants at birth had Z-scores of weight for age (WAZ), height for age (HAZ) and weight for height (WHZ) below the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) median (P < 0.01). However, from 1.5 to 4 months, the WAZ and WHZ scores were above (P < 0.01), but by 7 months fell and remained at - 0.7 to - 0.8 SD below the NCHS median (P < 0.01). HAZ scores improved after birth, were at the NCHS median to 8 months (P = NS), and then decreased to 0.2-0.4 SD below the NCHS median (P < 0.01). Compared with the urban infants, the township-rural infants were lighter and shorter throughout the first 18 months of life, and from 8 months of age, were - 1 SD or more below the NCHS median.


CONCLUSIONS
Growth retardation was found in this sample of Chinese infants. The magnitude of growth retardation was greater for infants in the township-rural area compared with those in the urban area.
He
M
M
Department of Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Preventive Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, PRC.
Mei
J
J
Jiang
Z
Z
Chen
Q
Q
Ma
J
J
Dai
J
J
Li
M
M
Su
Y
Y
Lui
S S
SS
Yeung
D L
DL
Anderson
G H
GH
D017677:Age Distribution; D001699:Biometry; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002657:Child Development; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*