Auxological evaluation and determinants of growth failure at the time of adoption in Eastern European adoptees.
OBJECTIVE
To identify factors contributing to growth failure in international adoptees (IAs) from Eastern Europe.


METHODS
138 IAs from Eastern Europe, 6-59 months old, were evaluated within 3 weeks of US arrival. Complete history, anthropometry, and serum for growth factors were obtained. Facial features were examined for risk of prenatal alcohol exposure.


RESULTS
Upon arrival, mean height (-1.23 +/- 1.07), weight (-1.43 +/- 1.29), and occipitofrontal circumference (OFC) (-0.63 +/- 1.10) SDS in IAs were significantly less than population means for US children. In a multiple regression model, age, low birth weight (LBW), insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3, and high risk for fetal alcohol syndrome were independent predictors of height SDS. LBW also independently predicted lower weight SDS and smaller OFC SDS.


CONCLUSIONS
We recommend that IAs undergo screening upon US arrival to identify risk factors for poor growth, particularly evidence of LBW and fetal alcohol exposure. Catch-up growth should be monitored in all children following adoption.
Miller
Bradley S
BS
Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
Kroupina
Maria G
MG
Iverson
Sandra L
SL
Masons
Patrick
P
Narad
Christine
C
Himes
John H
JH
Johnson
Dana E
DE
Petryk
Anna
A