title: Growth and development in children born very low birthweight.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the relationships between growth (birth to age 2 years) and developmental outcomes in children born with very low birthweight (VLBW).
  
  
  METHODS
  Motor and mental development in children born with VLBW were regressed on anthropometric measurements at birth, 9 months and 2 years using multivariable regression.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, a longitudinal cohort, community sample, designed to be representative of children born across the USA.
  
  
  METHODS
  950 children born with VLBW (<1500 g).
  
  
  METHODS
  Motor and cognitive scores on the Bayley Scales at 9 months and 24 months chronological age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A high proportion of children exhibited poor growth, with length-for-age z-scores <-2 (ie, stunting) in 21.3% of children at 9 months (adjusted for prematurity) and 34.2% of children at 2 years. Compared with children having z-scores >-2, children with growth shortfalls in head circumference, length and weight had a higher adjusted OR (aOR) of low Bayley motor scores at 9 months and 2 years (aOR ranging from 1.8 to 3.3, all p<0.05), while low Bayley cognitive scores were predicted by 9-month deficits in length and weight (aOR 2.0 and 2.4, respectively, both p<0.01) and 2-year deficits in length and head circumference (aOR 2.9 and 2.8, both p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Anthropometric measures of growth were linked to current and future neurodevelopmental outcomes in children born with VLBW. While careful length measures may be a particularly useful marker, deficits in all anthropometric measures were risk factors for developmental delays.
authors.affiliation: Division of Developmental Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Scharf
authors.affiliation: Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Annemarie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stroustrup
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: Mark R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Conaway
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: DeBoer
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002508:Cephalometry; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000254:growth & development*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008831:Microcephaly / Q000209:etiology; D013851:Thinness / Q000209:etiology; D014481:United States
keywords: Growth; Neurodevelopment