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Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
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Are babies getting bigger? Secular trends in fetal growth in Israel--a retrospective hospital-based cohort study

Shmuel Davidson1, Aviva Litwin, Dan Peleg

  • 1Department of Neonatology, Women's Comprehensive Health Care Center, Rabin Medical Center (Beilinson Campus), Petah Tikva, Israel. shmueld@clalit.org.il

The Israel Medical Association Journal : IMAJ
|October 18, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Israeli infants are growing larger and longer, contrary to global trends. This study found increased birth weight and length, with a simultaneous decrease in preterm births, suggesting improved prenatal care.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal anthropometry
  • Perinatal epidemiology
  • Secular trends in infant growth

Background:

  • Developed countries report a paradoxical trend of increasing preterm births and decreasing low birth weights over 25 years.
  • This study investigates secular trends in Israeli neonates, including birth weight, length, and head circumference.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if the paradoxical trend of increasing preterm births and decreasing low birth weights is observed in Israeli neonates.
  • To analyze secular trends in crown-heel length and head circumference among Israeli infants.

Main Methods:

  • A hospital-based historic cohort study design was employed.
  • Anthropometric data from 32,062 infants born at Rabin Medical Center between 1986 and 2004 were analyzed.
  • Data were collected from the hospital's computerized registry and compared across three time periods: 1986-1987, 1994-1996, and 2003-2004.

Main Results:

  • Significant increases in mean birth weight (41 g), crown-heel length (1.3 cm), and head circumference (0.1 cm) were observed from 1986 to 2004 (P < 0.001).
  • The proportion of preterm, very preterm, extremely preterm, low birth weight, and very low birth weight infants significantly decreased over time (P < 0.002).
  • Term infants showed increased length and head circumference, while moderately preterm infants showed increased weight and length.

Conclusions:

  • Infants born at Rabin Medical Center, both term and preterm, have shown significant increases in size (weight, length, head circumference) over time.
  • This growth trend is associated with a decrease in the proportion of preterm births, contrasting with trends in other developed countries.
  • These findings may indicate improvements in antenatal care and maternal determinants influencing infant growth and development.
Abstract

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