Very low birth weight and growth to age 8 years. I: Weight and height

W. H. Kitchen, L. W. Doyle, G. W. Ford and C. Callanan
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Melbourne, Australia.

We determined the heights and weights at ages 2, 5, and 8 years for the following three cohorts of children: group 1 with birth weights between 500 and 999 g; group 2 with birth weights between 1000 and 1499 g; and group 3 with birth weights more than 2500 g. By age 8 years, group 3 children were significantly heavier and taller than all children in groups 1 and 2 combined; group 1 children were significantly shorter than those in group 2, but their weights were similar. From ages 2 to 5 years, annual increments in weight and height were similar in all three groups; however, between ages 5 and 8 years, children in group 3 grew faster than those in groups 1 and 2 combined, and children in group 1 had smaller height increments than those in group 2. Of children with birth weights less than 1500 g, with a weight or height under the 10th percentile at age 2 years, only approximately one half were still below the 10th percentile for the corresponding measurement at age 8 years. Health variables determined before birth, such as maternal height or birth weight ratio, were more important than health after birth in predicting a height or weight below the 10th percentile at age 8 years in children with birth weights less than 1500 g.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Growth in 10- to 12-Year-Old Children Born at 23 to 25 Weeks' Gestation in the 1990s: A Swedish National Prospective Follow-up Study
Farooqi et al.
Pediatrics 2006;118:e1452-e1465.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Prematurity and reduced body fatness at 8-12 y of age
Fewtrell et al.
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2004;80:436-440.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Growth and adrenal androgen status at 7 years in very low birth weight survivors with and without bronchopulmonary dysplasia
Korhonen et al.
Arch. Dis. Child. 2004;89:320-324.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Physical Growth and Current Health Status of Infants Who Were of Extremely Low Birth Weight and Controls at Adolescence
Saigal et al.
Pediatrics 2001;108:407-415.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Growth of Preterm Infants Fed Nutrient-Enriched or Term Formula After Hospital Discharge
Carver et al.
Pediatrics 2001;107:683-689.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Effects of gestation and birth weight on the growth and development of very low birthweight small for gestational age infants: a matched group comparison
Gutbrod et al.
Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2000;82:208F-214.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Randomized diet in the neonatal period and growth performance until 7.5-8 y of age in preterm children
Morley and Lucas
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 2000;71:822-828.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

School Difficulties at Adolescence in a Regional Cohort of Children Who Were Extremely Low Birth Weight
Saigal et al.
Pediatrics 2000;105:325-331.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Workshop Summary: Nutrition of the Extremely Low Birth Weight Infant
Hay et al.
Pediatrics 1999;104:1360-1368.
FULL TEXT