title: Growth and development of children of mothers with leprosy and healthy controls.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In the pre-sulphone and early sulphone years children of leprous parents had been followed in a few prospective studies to observe the development of leprosy. No studies were made of the growth and development of these children.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective, open-ended, cohort study began in 1975 with follow-up of both mothers and their children until 2003. 156 pregnancies were studied consisting of 36 non-leprous (NL), 25 tuberculoid and borderline tuberculoid leprosy (TT&BT) (released-from-treatment), 18 with TT&BT (active), 42 borderline lepromatous leprosy (BL) and 35 lepromatous leprosy (LL).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Babies of mothers with leprosy had lower birth weight, smaller placentae, grew more slowly, had more infections and higher infant mortality than those of non-leprous mothers. The findings were most marked in babies of LL mothers. Growth in childhood was uneventful, infants of LL mothers catching up by age 3.6 years. Childhood infections were common in all groups but more serious for children of lepromatous mothers. The puberty skeletal growth spurt, and, for the girls, menarche was delayed for children studied compared with a new healthy control group, with catch-up by late teens. These findings were most marked in children of lepromatous, especially LL, mothers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Impaired growth in utero and infancy is probably due to immunological factors but we could find no explanation for the delayed growth in adolescent children of LL mothers.
authors: Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
authors: M Elizabeth
authors: ME
authors: Duncan
authors: Tivodar
authors: T
authors: Miko
authors: Rawleigh
authors: R
authors: Howe
authors: Stig
authors: S
authors: Hansen
authors: Suzanne
authors: S
authors: Menzel
authors: Reidar
authors: R
authors: Melsom
authors: Dominique
authors: D
authors: Frommel
authors: Elisabeth
authors: E
authors: Bezuneh
authors: Mesfin
authors: M
authors: Hunegnaw
authors: Genet
authors: G
authors: Amare
authors: Wondu
authors: W
authors: Wagaye
authors: Andrew
authors: A
authors: Challis
authors: Abraham
authors: A
authors: Aseffa
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D007918:Leprosy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies