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Longitudinal growth of infants in Qatar: comparison with WHO and CDC growth standards

Ashraf Soliman1, Mohamed Eldabbagh, Hany Khalafallah

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Hamad Medical Center, HMC, Doha, Qatar. ATSOLIMAN@yahoo.com

Indian Pediatrics
|July 2, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Infant growth in Qatar shows girls are longer than CDC/WHO standards at 12-18 months. WHO standards identify more infants as overweight, suggesting future health concerns for pediatric populations.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Nutrition
  • Public Health
  • Growth Monitoring

Background:

  • Accurate infant growth monitoring is crucial for early detection of malnutrition and obesity.
  • International growth standards (CDC, WHO) are widely used but may not reflect local populations.
  • Qatar's unique demographic and environmental factors may influence infant growth patterns.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare longitudinal infant growth data from Qatar with established CDC and WHO growth standards.
  • To evaluate discrepancies in identifying underweight and overweight infants using different growth references.
  • To recommend appropriate growth standards for the Qatari pediatric population.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 300 full-term infants (150 males, 150 females) in Qatar.
  • Sequential recording of infant weight and length at 2, 4, 6, 12, and 18 months of age.
  • Comparison of Qatari infant growth data against CDC and WHO growth standards.

Main Results:

  • Qatari girls exhibited greater mean length-for-age than CDC/WHO standards at 12 and 18 months.
  • CDC weight-for-length standards identified a higher prevalence of wasted infants (9.0% males, 6.5% females) compared to WHO standards (6.27% males, 6.0% females).
  • WHO standards identified more infants as overweight compared to CDC standards.

Conclusions:

  • WHO growth standards are recommended for Qatari infants due to their basis on a leaner, breastfed reference population.
  • The higher identification of overweight infants using WHO standards highlights potential future public health challenges in Qatar.
  • Growth monitoring using appropriate, context-specific standards is essential for pediatric health surveillance in Qatar.

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