Head circumference and long-term outcome in small-for-gestational age infants
Masayuki Ochiai1, Hideki Nakayama, Kazuo Sato
1Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. ochimasa@pediatr.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp
Objectives:
To assess risk factors for the growth and development of small-for-gestational age (SGA) infants whose birth weight was less than the 10(th) percentile.
Patients And Methods:
SGA infants who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit from 1995 to 1998 were enrolled in the study. Fifty-six SGA infants, having no chromosomal abnormalities, inherited diseases, TORCH infections, major anomaly and/or multiple birth, were divided into 34 asymmetrical and 22 symmetrical SGA infants by >or= or <10(th) percentile head circumference (HC) at birth. The physical growth including HC, and the developmental quotient (DQ) and intelligent quotient (IQ) scores were evaluated up to 6 years of age.
Results:
Symmetrical SGA infants had lower levels of weight, height and HC, but not of total DQ at 3 years or IQ scores at 6 years of age than asymmetrical SGA infants. The 21 SGA infants who had a HC less than the 10(th) percentile at 1 year of age (non-catch-up group) showed lower total DQ (mean 96 vs. 105) and IQ (82 vs. 102) scores than 34 SGA infants who had not (catch-up group).
Conclusions:
These results suggested that psychomotor development of SGA infants depended on the HC at 1 year of age rather than that at birth.
