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Rapid infant weight gain and advanced skeletal maturation in childhood

Ellen W Demerath1, Laura L Jones, Nicola L Hawley

  • 1Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55454-1015, USA. ewd@umn.edu

The Journal of Pediatrics
|May 19, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Rapid infant weight gain is linked to advanced skeletal maturity in children. This association may be explained by increased childhood stature in those with faster early growth.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Growth and Development
  • Skeletal Maturation Studies
  • Human Biology

Background:

  • Infant growth patterns significantly influence long-term health outcomes.
  • Understanding the relationship between early weight gain and skeletal development is crucial for pediatric health.
  • Previous research has explored various factors affecting child development, but the specific link between rapid infant weight gain and skeletal maturity requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between rapid infant weight gain and skeletal maturity in children.
  • To test the hypothesis that faster weight gain in infancy predicts advanced skeletal development by late childhood.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized longitudinal data from two large birth cohort studies: the Fels Longitudinal Growth Study (USA) and the Birth to Twenty study (South Africa).
  • Employed multiple linear regression models to analyze the relationship between weight gain (0-2 years) and skeletal age (9 years).
  • Adjusted for key covariates including birth weight, body mass index, and stature to isolate the effect of infant weight gain.

Main Results:

  • A statistically significant association was found between faster infant weight gain and more advanced skeletal maturity at age 9 years in both cohorts.
  • Each standard deviation score increase in infant weight gain corresponded to approximately 0.2 years (2.4 months) of advanced skeletal age.
  • This association persisted even after controlling for birth weight and childhood body mass index, with stature appearing to mediate the effect.

Conclusions:

  • Rapid infant weight gain is a significant predictor of advanced skeletal development in late childhood.
  • The findings suggest that early growth trajectories, particularly weight gain, can influence skeletal maturation.
  • Stature may play a mediating role in the observed relationship between infant weight gain and skeletal development.
Abstract

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