Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 27, 2025

Fetal Echocardiography and Pulsed-wave Doppler Ultrasound in a Rabbit Model of Intrauterine Growth Restriction
14:19

Fetal Echocardiography and Pulsed-wave Doppler Ultrasound in a Rabbit Model of Intrauterine Growth Restriction

Published on: June 29, 2013

28.5K

Variation in very preterm extrauterine growth in a European multicountry cohort

Rym El Rafei1,2, Pierre-Henri Jarreau3,4, Mikael Norman5,6

  • 1Université de Paris, CRESS, Obstetrical Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Research Team,EPOPé, INSERM, INRA, F-75004, Paris, France rym.el-rafei@inserm.fr.

Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal Edition
|December 3, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Extrauterine growth restriction (EUGR) is common in very preterm infants, with significant variations across European countries. Differences in measuring EUGR complicate international comparisons and research efforts.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatalogy
  • Pediatric Growth and Development
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Extrauterine growth restriction (EUGR) in very preterm infants is linked to adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes.
  • Lack of standardized EUGR measurement methods hinders international research collaboration.
  • Understanding EUGR prevalence variations is crucial for improving infant care and outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the prevalence of EUGR in a European cohort of very preterm infants using various common measurement methods.
  • To identify variations in EUGR prevalence across different European countries.
  • To assess the impact of different measurement tools on EUGR prevalence estimates.

Main Methods:

  • A population-based observational study was conducted across 19 regions in 11 European countries.
  • Data included 6792 very preterm infants (born <32 weeks gestational age) who survived to discharge.
  • EUGR was assessed using discharge weight percentiles (Fenton, Intergrowth charts) and growth velocity measures (Fenton Z-scores, Patel's model).

Main Results:

  • EUGR prevalence varied twofold between countries for all indicators, persisting after case-mix adjustment.
  • Discharge weight <10th percentile ranged from 13% (Sweden) to 60% (Portugal) depending on the chart used.
  • Mean term birth weight correlated strongly with percentile-based measures but not with weight-gain velocity.

Conclusions:

  • Very preterm infants exhibit a high prevalence of EUGR, with substantial inter-country variability in Europe.
  • The use of common postnatal growth charts reveals significant variability linked to mean term birth weight, complicating international benchmarking.
  • Standardization of EUGR measurement is essential for reliable international comparisons and research.
Abstract

Keywords:
epidemiologygrowthneonatologystatistics

More Related Videos

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study09:36

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

27.5K
Preterm EEG: A Multimodal Neurophysiological Protocol19:32

Preterm EEG: A Multimodal Neurophysiological Protocol

Published on: February 18, 2012

28.8K

Related Concept Videos

Longitudinal Studies01:26

Longitudinal Studies

Longitudinal studies are also widely used in other medical and social science fields. For instance, in cardiovascular research, they can monitor patients' health over decades to identify risk factors for heart disease, such as high cholesterol or smoking, and evaluate the long-term effectiveness of preventive measures. Similarly, in mental health studies, researchers might follow individuals from adolescence into adulthood to understand the development and progression of conditions like...
347
Regression Toward the Mean01:52

Regression Toward the Mean

Regression toward the mean (“RTM”) is a phenomenon in which extremely high or low values—for example, and individual’s blood pressure at a particular moment—appear closer to a group’s average upon remeasuring. Although this statistical peculiarity is the result of random error and chance, it has been problematic across various medical, scientific, financial and psychological applications. In particular, RTM, if not taken into account, can interfere when...
6.7K
Bias in Epidemiological Studies01:29

Bias in Epidemiological Studies

Biases can arise at various stages of research, from study design and data collection to analysis and interpretation. Recognizing and addressing these biases is essential to ensure the validity and reliability of epidemiological findings.Broadly speaking, biases in epidemiology fall into three main categories: selection bias, information bias, and confounding. A more detailed description of possible biases is:  
1.0K
Polygenic Traits01:18

Polygenic Traits

When more than one gene is responsible for a given phenotype, the trait is considered polygenic. Human height is a polygenic trait. Studies have uncovered hundreds of loci that influence height, and there are believed to be many more. Due to the high number of genes involved, as well as environmental and nutritional factors, height varies significantly within a given population. The distribution of height forms a bell-shaped curve, with relatively few individuals in the population at the...
68.0K
Nature and Nurture01:10

Nature and Nurture

Many human characteristics, like height, are shaped by both nature—in other words, by our genes—and by nurture, or our environment. For example, chronic stress during childhood inhibits the production of growth hormones and consequently reduces bone growth and height. Scientists estimate that 70-90% of variation in height is due to genetic differences among individuals, and 10-30% of variation in height is due to differences in the environments that individuals experience,...
21.7K
Population Growth00:57

Population Growth

Population size is dynamic, increasing with birth rates and immigration, and decreasing with death rates and emigration. In ideal conditions with unlimited resources, populations can increase exponentially, which plots as a J-shaped growth rate curve of population size against time. This type of curve is characteristic of newly-introduced invasive species, or populations that have suffered catastrophic declines and are rebounding.
26.7K