Catch-up growth up to ten years of age in children born very preterm or with very low birth weight.
BACKGROUND
Improved survival due to advances in neonatal care has brought issues such as postnatal growth and development more to the focus of our attention. Most studies report stunting in children born very preterm and/or small for gestational age. In this article we study the growth pattern of these children and aim to identify factors associated with postnatal catch-up growth.


METHODS
1338 children born with a gestational age <32 weeks and/or a birth weight of <1500 grams were followed during a Dutch nationwide prospective study (POPS). Subgroups were classified as appropriate for gestational age and <32 weeks (AGA) or small for gestational age (<32 wks SGA and > or =32 wks SGA). Data were collected at different intervals from birth until 10 years for the 962 survivors and compared to reference values. The correlation between several factors and growth was analysed.


RESULTS
At 10 years the AGA children had attained normal height, whereas the SGA group demonstrated stunting, even after correction for target height (AGA: 0.0 SDS; SGA <32 wks: -0.29SDS and > or =32 wks: -0.13SDS). Catch-up growth was especially seen in the SGA children with a fast initial weight gain. BMI was approximately 1 SD below the population reference mean.


CONCLUSIONS
At 10 years of age, children born very preterm AGA show no stunting. However, many children born SGA, especially the very preterm, show persistent stunting. Early weight gain seems an important prognostic factor in predicting childhood growth.
Knops
Noël B B
NB
Department of Paediatrics, Leiden University Medical Center, J6S, PO Box 2600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands. n.knops@planet.nl
Sneeuw
Kommer C A
KC
Brand
Ronald
R
Hille
Elysee T M
ET
den Ouden
A Lya
AL
Wit
Jan-Maarten
JM
Verloove-Vanhorick
S Pauline
SP
D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000254:growth & development*; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age / Q000254:growth & development*; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D012044:Regression Analysis