First-year growth of 834 preterm infants in a Chinese population: a single-center study

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to follow the growth and hematological indicators of preterm infants during their first year.MethodsNeonates below 37 gestational weeks had routine follow-ups up through 1 year from January 2012 to December 2015 at West China 2nd University Hospital, Sichuan University. Weight, length and head circumference (HC) were measured monthly during the first 6 months, followed by monitoring every second month until 12 months. The catch-up growth defined as a gain of Z-score > 0.67 according to previous study. All preterm infants were prescribed iron prophylaxis based on national guideline. The hemoglobin concentration was examined at 6 and 12 months.ResultsAltogether, 132 very-low-birth-weight (VLBW), 504 low-birth-weight (LBW) and 198 normal-birth-weight (NBW) infants were followed. The rates of catch-up growth for weight, length and HC 12 months of corrected age (CA) were 22.6, 29.1 and 14.6%, respectively. SGA and VLBW infants showed higher catch-up growth rates. The overall prevalence of anemia was 6.8% at 6 months and 7.8% at 12 months. The Z-scores for weight-for-length, length and HC were lower in the VLBW and SGA preterm infant groups than in the other preterm groups throughout the first year of life. The incidences of stunting, microcephaly and wasting changed from 5, 1.3 and 3.7% to 2, 1.1, 0.9 and 2.4%, respectively, during the first year. However, the incidences of wasting and stunting were higher for the VLBW infants than for the LBW and NBW infants at 12 months (9.3% vs. 1.4%, p < 0.01; 9.3% vs. 1%, p < 0.01,respectively; 4.7% vs. 0.8%, p < 0.01, 4.7% vs. 0%, p < 0.01,respectively). Similar results were observed between SGA and AGA infants (8.7% vs. 1.5%, p < 0.01; 5.8% vs. 0.4%, p < 0.01). Logistic regression revealed SGA and VLBW as risk factors for poor growth (WLZ < -2SD) at 12 months (OR = 5.5, 95% CI: 2.1–14.8, p < 0.01: OR = 4.8, 95% CI: 1.8–12.8, p < 0.01, respectively).ConclusionThe VLBW and SGA preterm infants showed significant catch-up growth during their first year of life. However, SGA and VLBW were risk factors for poor growth during the preterm infants’ first year of life. Prophylactic iron supplementation in preterm infants appears to reduce the prevalence of anemia.

Neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm babies during infancy in Eastern Uganda: a prospective cohort study

“…Developmental outcomes of preterm survivors in infancy are not well documented in this region. The first 6 months of life is a critical period of catch-up growth and development for preterm babies [ 19 , 20 ]. There is evidence of significant growth faltering at 6 months of age among infants born preterm [ 21 ].…”

Follow-Up Study On Physical And Neurodevelopmental Outcomes In Extremely Preterm Infants At The Corrected Age Of 12 Months

“…The perinatal growth retardation is followed by a period of catch-up growth, which usually starts in early infancy [7] .Some previous studies suggested that achieving catch-up growth in an early stage after birth was a signi cant factor in long-term growth and neurodevelopment outcomes [8,9] . A relatively high percentage of preterm infants achieved catch-up growth during the rst year of life [10] . Although less research on the catch-up of EPIs has been conducted in China, the data from our study indicated that the weight, length, and HC all rose rapidly within the corrected age of 6 months, but the growth rate slowed down after the corrected age of 6 months.In addition, the total rates of catch-up in weight, body length, and HC all reached more than 50%at the corrected age of 3, 6, and 12 months, respectively.…”

“…Hack et al, however, discussed that catch-up growth throughout infancy was associated with the measures of obesity at the age of 14 and was therefore not bene cial [11] . A study on infants with gestational age less than 32 weeks and/or birth weight less than 1500 g and followed up over 10 years found that higher weight or height at the age of 5 years was associated with greater weight at the age of 1 year [10] .…”

Best practices, challenges and innovations in pediatrics in 2019

“…A catch-up growth, at 12 months corrected age, has been not achieved in 17.4%, and was related to gestational age, regular health care, mothers’ daily contact with the baby, caregivers’ educational background, monthly average family income, and addition of breast milk supplements. Being small for gestational age and very low birth weight have been recently confirmed as risk factors for poor growth in another study from China [ 34 ]. Key suggestions are given to increase post discharge catch-up growth of preterms infants.…”