Longitudinal changes in the bone mineral content of term and premature infants
W. B. Pittard 3rd, K. M. Geddes, S. E. Sutherland, M. C. Miller and B. W. Hollis
Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425.
With the use of photon absorptiometry, bone mineralization was measured at
birth and 8 and 16 weeks after delivery in 12 very-low-birth-weight
premature (mean +/- SD gestational age, 31 +/- 1.5 weeks) infants who
required minimal medical support. Simultaneously, 19 healthy term infants
were studied. Throughout the study, each neonate received modified 84-kJ/30
mL formula containing no added calciferol. The recommended daily allowance
(400 IU) of calciferol was given to each infant as an oral supplement.
Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, calcium, phosphorus, and parathyroid hormone
concentrations were monitored biweekly and were normal. Bone mineral
content and bone width significantly differed at birth between the term and
premature infants. However, by 16 weeks after delivery, the premature
infants had exceeded the bone mineral status of the term infants at birth,
and their bone mineral content was not significantly lower than that of the
term infants. These data indicate improved bone mineralization as compared
with previously reported data from very-low-birth-weight neonates.
