Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 5, 2025
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Associations between size at birth and size at 6 years among preterm infants: a retrospective cohort study
Kentaro Awata1, Hiromichi Shoji1, Irena Santosa1
1Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Insights
Gestational age and fetal growth in length are linked to school-age size in very-low-birthweight children. These associations were particularly noted in boys, highlighting the importance of early development.
Area of Science:
- Neonatalogy
- Pediatric Growth and Development
- Perinatal Medicine
Background:
- Limited understanding of fetal growth's impact on school-age size in premature infants.
- Focus on very-low-birthweight infants born before 30 weeks' gestation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the relationship between gestational age and anthropometric z-scores at birth and size at 6 years of age.
- To assess correlations between early growth parameters and later physical development in preterm children.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of medical records for 187 preterm children.
- Correlations assessed between birth z-scores (weight, length, head circumference) and 6-year z-scores (weight, height, BMI).
Main Results:
- Gestational age and birth anthropometrics significantly associated with 6-year outcomes in boys and overall.
- Gestational age and birth length z-score independently predicted 6-year weight, height, and BMI z-scores.
- Fewer significant associations observed in girls, except for weight at 6 years.
Conclusions:
- Gestational age and birth length z-score are associated with 6-year anthropometric z-scores in very-low-birthweight infants.
- These associations are more pronounced in boys.
- Early fetal growth is a key determinant of later physical size in extremely preterm children.
Background:
Little is known about the relationship between fetal growth and size at school age in children born prematurely. We evaluated the relationships between gestational age and anthropometric z-scores at birth and size at 6 years of age in very-low-birthweight infants born at <30 weeks' gestation.
Methods:
We collected data from the medical records of 187 preterm children at birth and 6 years of age. We evaluated correlations between gestational age and z-scores for weight, body length, and head circumference at birth and z-scores for weight, height, and body mass index at 6 years of age.
Results:
Simple regression analysis showed that, in boys and the overall group, gestational age and z-scores for weight, body length, and head circumference at birth had significant association with z-scores for weight, height, and body mass index at 6 years of age. No significant associations were found in girls, except for weight z-scores at 6 years with gestational age and head circumference z-scores at birth. Multiple regression analysis showed that gestational age and length z-score at birth were significantly and independently associated with weight and height z-score at 6 years. Gestational age was also significantly and independently associated with body mass index z-score at 6 years.
Conclusion:
Gestational age and fetal growth in length (assessed with the birth-length z-score) were associated with anthropometric z-scores at 6 years in very-low-birthweight children born at <30 weeks of gestation, especially in boys.
Related Concept Videos
01:52Regression Toward the Mean
01:30Biological Influences on Intelligence
01:30Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
01:28Relationship with Parents: Attachment