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Linear and skull growth in extremely low birth weight babies with rickets of prematurity

Monika Sharma1, Inderpreet Sohi

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Christian Medical College, Brown Road, Ludhiana, Punjab 141008, India. drsmonika@gmail.com

Indian Journal of Pediatrics
|October 15, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Rickets of prematurity impacts bone mineral accretion in preterm infants. However, this study found no significant difference in head size or length between preterm infants with and without rickets up to 12 months of age.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatalogy
  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Developmental Pediatrics

Background:

  • Preterm birth is associated with impaired bone mineral accretion and rickets of prematurity.
  • Rickets of prematurity can lead to long-term skeletal growth morbidities.
  • The impact of rickets of prematurity on skull growth is less understood compared to linear growth.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the effect of rickets of prematurity on linear and skull growth in the first year of life.
  • To evaluate anthropometric differences between extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants with and without rickets of prematurity.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective observational study analyzing 1-year follow-up records of ELBW infants.
  • Comparison of anthropometric data (head size and length) between ELBW infants with confirmed rickets of prematurity (study group) and those without (control group).
  • Statistical analysis of anthropometric values at various ages within the first year of life.

Main Results:

  • No significant difference in linear growth (length) was observed between the study and control groups until 12 months of age.
  • No significant difference in skull growth (head size) was observed between the study and control groups until 12 months of age.
  • Both length and head size were comparable in ELBW infants with and without rickets of prematurity at 12 months.

Conclusions:

  • Rickets of prematurity does not appear to significantly affect linear or skull growth in extremely low birth weight infants within the first year of life.
  • Further research may be warranted to assess longer-term growth outcomes and potential subtle impacts of rickets of prematurity.

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