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Weight and recumbent length from 1 to 12 mo of age: reference data for 1-mo increments
1Department of Pediatrics, Wright State University School of Medicine, Yellow Springs, OH 45387-1695.
Insights
New reference data for infant growth increments in weight and length are now available. These findings enable earlier detection of growth issues in infants, supporting timely medical intervention.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Human Growth and Development
- Biostatistics
Background:
- Accurate assessment of infant growth is crucial for early detection of developmental issues.
- Existing reference data for growth increments have limitations in terms of temporal resolution.
- Standardized growth assessment tools are essential for pediatric care and research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop new reference data for monthly increments in infant weight and recumbent length.
- To provide a tool for earlier evaluation of infant growth velocity.
- To facilitate timely diagnosis and treatment of growth-related concerns.
Main Methods:
- Utilized serial growth data from 504 infants.
- Applied a family of three-parameter mathematical functions to individual infant data.
- Calculated percentiles for growth status and increments.
Main Results:
- Developed reference data for 1-month increments in weight and recumbent length.
- Observed sex-based differences in growth percentiles, with boys generally having larger values.
- Identified specific age ranges where lower percentile increments differed between sexes.
Conclusions:
- The new reference data allow for more frequent and earlier assessment of infant growth velocity.
- These data are applicable to diverse infant populations (white/black, breast/formula-fed).
- Earlier growth evaluation can lead to prompt initiation of diagnostic procedures and therapeutic interventions.
Abstract:
Serial data from 504 infants were used to develop reference data for 1-mo increments in weight and recumbent length by fitting a family of three-parameter mathematical functions to the serial data for each individual. The percentiles for status and for increments tended to be larger for the boys than for the girls except for the lower percentiles of increments for weight after 9-10 mo and for recumbent length after 8-9 mo. These data can be used to assess growth in white or black infants whether they are breast-fed or formula-fed. These new data will allow earlier evaluation of growth velocity than the reference data for 3- and 6-mo increments that were available previously. This can lead to the earlier initiation of diagnostic procedures and treatment. The present data should be useful also in research studies.