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Relationship between physical growth and motor development in infancy and early childhood: Multivariate analysis

Gregory Livshits1, Zvi Cohen2, Itshak Otremski2

  • 1Research Unit, Human Population Biology, Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 69978 Tel Aviv, Israel.

American Journal of Human Biology : the Official Journal of the Human Biology Council
|May 27, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Infant growth and motor development are complexly related. While direct links exist between motor milestones, birth measurements like weight primarily influence development indirectly.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Developmental Biology
  • Biostatistics

Background:

  • Understanding infant development requires analyzing physical growth and motor milestone achievement.
  • Early life measurements provide critical data for developmental assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the intricate relationships between infant physical growth parameters and the attainment of motor developmental milestones.
  • To elucidate the direct and indirect contributions of early growth to motor development.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 651 singleton infants over 2 years.
  • Measurements included body weight (WT), length (LT), and head circumference (HC).
  • Principal component analysis (PCA) and path analysis were employed to model relationships.

Main Results:

  • PCA identified distinct components related to physical measurements, motor development, and growth rates.
  • Path analysis indicated direct relationships between sequential motor milestones (TURN, SAT, STOOD, WALK, TOOTH).
  • Birth measurements, particularly birth weight, showed indirect effects on motor development rate.

Conclusions:

  • The interplay between infant growth and motor development is multifaceted.
  • Sequential motor milestones are directly linked, but early growth influences are predominantly indirect.
  • This study highlights the complex developmental trajectories in early childhood.

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