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Critical examination of relationships between early growth and childhood overweight in extremely preterm infants

Tanis R Fenton1,2, Roseann Nasser3, Dianne Creighton4

  • 1Community Health Sciences, O'Brien Institute of Public Health, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada. TFenton@ucalgary.ca.

Journal of Perinatology : Official Journal of the California Perinatal Association
|August 18, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Childhood overweight and obesity (OWO) affects 2.4% of extremely preterm infants. Risk factors include low maternal education, diabetes, and neonatal brain injury, not birth size.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatalogy
  • Pediatric Endocrinology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Childhood overweight and obesity (OWO) is a growing concern.
  • Extremely preterm infants (<29 weeks gestation, <1500g) face unique health challenges.
  • Understanding OWO risk factors in this population is crucial for early intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of OWO at 3-year corrected age in extremely preterm infants.
  • To identify risk factors associated with OWO in this cohort.

Main Methods:

  • A multicentre retrospective cohort study.
  • Included preterm infants admitted to NICU between 2001-2014.
  • Analyzed data from 911 infants, assessing OWO at 3-year corrected age.

Main Results:

  • The prevalence of OWO was 2.4% (22 infants).
  • No association found between OWO and being small for gestational age or low weight at 36 weeks.
  • OWO was associated with low maternal education (RR=7.4), maternal diabetes (RR=5.2), and neonatal brain injury (RR=4.9).
  • Adjusting for concurrent child weight introduced overadjustment bias.

Conclusions:

  • Small size at birth or 36 weeks gestation does not increase the risk of early childhood overgrowth or obesity in extremely preterm infants.
  • Maternal factors and neonatal complications are significant risk factors for OWO in this population.
Abstract

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