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Growth of Czech breastfed infants in comparison with the World Health Organization standards
Insights
Czech breastfed infants
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Anthropometry
- Public Health
Background:
- Accurate growth references are crucial for monitoring infant health.
- Understanding variations in growth interpretation is essential for appropriate care.
- Previous national references may not reflect current infant growth patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the growth of Czech breastfed infants with WHO 2006 and Czech 1991/2001 references.
- To identify discrepancies in growth assessment between different standards.
- To inform new growth assessment guidelines for Czech infants.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study of 960 infant/parent pairs in the Czech Republic.
- Collection of anthropometric data during the first 12 months of life.
- Parental questionnaires administered at 18 months.
Main Results:
- Czech breastfed infants showed greater length and head circumference compared to WHO standards.
- Weight-for-age and weight-for-length percentiles differed from WHO standards, particularly in the first year.
- Observed growth patterns deviated from both WHO and Czech national references, with smaller differences from national standards.
Conclusions:
- Czech breastfed infant growth differs significantly from current national references and WHO standards.
- The study's findings support the development of updated growth assessment guidelines for the Czech Republic.
- Adoption of current WHO growth standards in the Czech Republic is not recommended based on these findings.
Abstract:
Growth references are important for paediatric health monitoring. It is critical to understand differences in growth interpretation and potential consequences when using available growth references. This study compares the growth of Czech breastfed children with the current WHO growth standards 2006 and the Czech references 1991, 2001. A total of 960 infant/parent pairs in the Czech Republic were recruited through paediatric practices. Anthropometric data were collected during infants' first 12 months of life and parent questionnaires were gathered during a preventive visit at 18 months. Czech breastfed infants were longer with a greater head circumference at all percentiles compared to the WHO standards and were similar to the national references. The percentile weight-for-age and weight-for-length values of infants (: 6 months) were lower, and higher (6-12 months) compared to the WHO standards. The infant growth in the sample differed from both the WHO standards as well as the national references. Our findings indicate that the growth of Czech breastfed children differs from the current national references. These discrepancies were smaller compared to the WHO standards. The results of the study were used for new growth assessment guidelines to optimize feeding recommendations for Czech infants. The adoption of the WHO standards in the Czech Republic is not recommended.