Whole body bone mineral content is similar at discharge from the hospital in premature infants receiving fortified breast milk or preterm formula.
BACKGROUND
Prematurely born infants, especially those with very low birth weight (<1500 g) are at risk for metabolic bone disease.


OBJECTIVE
The influence of the type of oral feeding regimen and of other potential determinants of whole bone mineral content in prematurely born infants, when they approached full gestation, were evaluated. Previous studies have mainly examined effects at the level of regional bone.


METHODS
34 infants (21 males and 13 females), all born between 25.4 and 33.7 weeks of gestation, were studied before discharge. Whole body bone mineral content measurements were made just before hospital discharge using a commercial densitometer (Hologic QDR 4500, Hologic Inc, Waltham, MA) at a median age of 40 days (range, 10 to 115 days) after birth.


RESULTS
Expressed as a percentage of whole body mass, bone mass ranged between 0.86% and 1.99%, was similar between girls and boys and correlated positively with birth weight SD (r=0.42; P<0.05) and body weight SD (r=0.35; P<0.05). No difference in bone mass percentage was found between the different types of oral feedings (fortified human milk and preterm formula) or medications studied (corticoids and diuretics).


CONCLUSIONS
Whereas prenatal and postnatal weight gain determines the degree of bone mineralization of premature infants, it appears that the type of oral feeding does not affect differently the postnatal bone mineralization of premature infants, when assessed at the moment of discharge.
De Schepper
Jean
J
Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Akademisch Ziekenhuis Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium. jean.deschepper@az.vub.ac.be
Cools
Filip
F
Vandenplas
Yvan
Y
Louis
Olivia
O
D001724:Birth Weight / Q000502:physiology; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D015519:Bone Density / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D001846:Bone Development / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D003720:Densitometry / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005527:Food, Fortified; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D041943:Infant Formula; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000254:growth & development*; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000254:growth & development*; D008297:Male; D008895:Milk, Human