title: Catch-up growth of head circumference of very low birth weight, small for gestational age preterm infants and mental development to adulthood.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the influence of postnatal energy quotient (EQ, energy intake/kg body weight per day) on head circumference (HC) growth and mental development of very low birth weight (VLBW), small for gestational age (SGA, <10th percentile) preterm infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  SGA VLBW preterm infants (n = 46) with primarily symmetric intrauterine growth restriction were compared with 62 appropriate for gestational age (AGA) VLBW preterm infants and 73 term infants from the Bonn Longitudinal study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-seven of 46 (59%) of the SGA preterm infants showed complete HC catch-up growth by the age of 12 months, but mostly before 6 months after term (HC catch-up group). These infants had significantly higher mean EQs from day 2 to 10 than the group of 19 infants without HC catch-up (EQ, 95 vs 78). Mean EQs correlated significantly with developmental and intelligence quotients (DQ/IQ) from 18 months to 6 years. As adults, the HC of the HC catch-up group was not significantly different from that of the AGA preterm infants, the term infants, and their parents. The group without HC catch-up had smaller HC as adults.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest that early postnatal high-energy nutrient intake for SGA preterm infants is needed to promote HC catch-up growth and to prevent negative consequences of undernutrition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital, Medical Center, University of Bonn, Germany. Ingeborg.Brandt@ukb.uni-bonn.de
authors.forename: Ingeborg
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Brandt
authors.forename: Elisabeth J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Sticker
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Lentze
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006257:Head / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age / Q000254:growth & development*; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000254:growth & development*; D007360:Intelligence / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control