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Postnatal growth in children born small for gestational age with and without smoking mother

Linda Lindström1, Anna-Karin Wikström2, Eva Bergman2

  • 1Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. linda.lindstrom@kbh.uu.se.

Pediatric Research
|February 27, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Children born small for gestational age (SGA) to mothers who smoked show faster postnatal catch-up growth compared to those with non-smoking mothers. This rapid growth may impact future metabolic and cardiovascular health.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Growth and Development
  • Maternal Smoking Effects
  • Child Health Outcomes

Background:

  • Maternal smoking is a known risk factor for impaired fetal growth.
  • Postnatal growth trajectories in infants born small for gestational age (SGA) exposed to maternal smoking are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate and compare the postnatal growth patterns of children born SGA with smoking mothers versus those born SGA with non-smoking mothers.
  • To assess the risk of short stature in these groups compared to appropriate for gestational age infants.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort study involving term-born infants categorized into: appropriate for gestational age with non-smoking mothers (AGA-NS), SGA with smoking mothers (SGA-S), and SGA with non-smoking mothers (SGA-NS).
  • Height and weight were measured at birth and up to 5 years.
  • Generalized linear mixed-effects models and adjusted risk ratios (aRR) were used for analysis.

Main Results:

  • At birth, SGA-S infants were shorter than SGA-NS infants but similar in weight.
  • By 1.5 years, SGA-S infants caught up in height to SGA-NS infants.
  • At 5 years, SGA-S infants were taller and heavier than SGA-NS infants, with no increased risk of short stature compared to AGA-NS infants.

Conclusions:

  • Infants born small for gestational age to smoking mothers exhibit accelerated catch-up growth.
  • This rapid postnatal development may have long-term implications for metabolic and cardiovascular health in children exposed to maternal smoking.
Abstract

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