title: Monitoring head size and growth using the new UK-WHO growth standard.
abstract: In order to assess the extent to which children in the UK will follow the UK-WHO head circumference standard, the authors used head circumference data from the Southampton Women's Survey (n=3159) and the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (n=15 208) in children aged 0-36 months, converted into z-scores using both the UK-WHO and UK1990 references. Rapid head growth was defined as crossing upwards through two major centile bands (1.33 SD). The UK-WHO standard identified many more infants with heads above the 98th centile than to the UK1990 reference (UK-WHO: 6-16% of infants at various ages; UK1990: 1-4%). Rapid head growth in the first 6-9 months was also much more common using the UK-WHO standard (UK-WHO: 14.6-15.3%; UK1990: 4.8-5.1%). Practitioners should be aware of these findings to avoid unnecessary referrals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Health, Glasgow University, Yorkhill Hospitals, Glasgow, UK. cmw7a@clinmed.gla.ac.uk
authors.forename: Charlotte M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Hazel M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Inskip
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Godfrey
authors.forename: Anthony F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Ken K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Ong
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology; D002508:Cephalometry / Q000379:methods; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006257:Head / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D055815:Young Adult