title: Evaluation of the ability of a Latin-American gestational weight curve to predict adverse pregnancy outcomes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the accuracy of a Latin-American curve used to predict adverse pregnancy outcomes such as low birth weight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA), large for gestational age (LGA).
  
  
  METHODS
  More than 23000 body mass index (BMI) measurements from 4540 pregnant women participating in a prospective cohort study conducted in 6 Brazilian capitals were analyzed in their relationship to LBW, SGA, LGA, and macrosomia. Analyses were based on receiver operating characteristic curves and models for repeated measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The areas under the curve were less than 0.70 for all outcomes, with low sensitivity and specificity for pregestational BMI (0.54-0.61) and BMI at the last prenatal visit (0.63-0.68). The longitudinal model showed a mean weekly BMI gain of 0.16.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Latin-American curve is inadequate to predict LBW, SGA, and LGA suggesting the need to develop a new approach for the nutritional monitoring of pregnant women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Applied Nutrition, Josué de Castro Nutrition Institute, Rio de Janeiro Federal University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. kacetal@gmail.com
authors.forename: Gilberto
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kac
authors.forename: Luciana Bertoldi
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Nucci
authors.forename: Maria Helena Constantino
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Spyrides
authors.forename: Bruce B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Duncan
authors.forename: Maria Inês
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D005320:Fetal Macrosomia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care; D012016:Reference Values; D015430:Weight Gain; D055815:Young Adult