Fetal growth restriction: relation to growth and obesity at the age of 9 years.
OBJECTIVE
To assess growth patterns of 9-year-old children, some of whom had intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).


METHODS
75 9-year-old children (41 were IUGR infants) were weighed and measured at birth, at 1 year, at 2 years and at 9 years of age. Using general linear models for continuous data, changes in weight z scores were used to quantify growth rate between birth and 9 years of age.


RESULTS
IUGR children were smaller at birth (weight z score -2.1 v 0.2 in normal children; p<0.001) but showed a greater increase in their weight between birth and 9 years (change of weight z score 1.5 v 0.4 in normal children; p = 0.001). At the age of 9 years the weight, height and body mass index (BMI) z scores were lower in IUGR children than the control children (weight z score -0.4 v 0.6, respectively; p<0.001, height z score -0.5 v 0, respectively; p = 0.002, BMI z score -0.2 v 0.7, respectively; p = 0.002). The predictors of these differences were IUGR, birth weight and maternal and paternal heights.


CONCLUSIONS
IUGR infants grow faster but remain shorter and lighter than their normal counterparts-that is, they fail to fully catch up by 9 years of age.
Chakraborty
Supratik
S
Robert Kilpatrick Clinical Sciences Building, University of Leicester, PO Box: 65, Leicester LE2 7LX, UK.
Joseph
Desaline Veronica
DV
Bankart
Michael John Gordon
MJ
Petersen
Stewart A
SA
Wailoo
Michael P
MP
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006128:Growth; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology