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Association of growth with neurodevelopment in extremely low gestational age infants: a population-based analysis

Roland Gerull1,2, Eva Huber3, Valentin Rousson4

  • 1Department of Neonatology, University Children's Hospital Basel UKBB, University of Basel, 4056, Basel, Switzerland. roland.gerull@ukbb.ch.

European Journal of Pediatrics
|July 22, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Postnatal growth in extremely low gestational age newborns (ELGAN) did not significantly predict neurodevelopmental outcomes at two years. This suggests growth

Area of Science:

  • Neonatalogy and Developmental Pediatrics
  • Perinatal Medicine
  • Growth and Development Studies

Background:

  • Conflicting results exist regarding the association between postnatal growth and neurodevelopment in extremely low gestational age newborns (ELGAN, <28 weeks' gestation).
  • Previous assumptions may have overestimated the role of postnatal growth as a predictor of neurodevelopmental outcomes in infancy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between postnatal growth trajectories and neurodevelopmental outcomes at two years of age in ELGAN.
  • To determine if growth from birth to hospital discharge or birth to two-year follow-up is associated with neurodevelopmental impairment.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective population-based cohort study of live-born ELGAN in Switzerland (2006-2012).
  • Growth parameters (weight, length, head circumference, BMI) assessed at birth, discharge, and 2-year follow-up (FU2).
  • Regression models analyzed associations between growth changes and neurodevelopmental indices (mental and psychomotor) at FU2.

Main Results:

  • 1244 ELGAN infants included; 1049 (84.3%) had 2-year follow-up.
  • Moderate/severe neurodevelopmental impairment occurred in 23.2% of infants.
  • No significant association was found between growth parameters (birth to discharge or birth to FU2) and neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Conclusions:

  • Postnatal growth between birth and hospital discharge is not significantly associated with neurodevelopment at two years in ELGAN.
  • Growth from birth to two-year follow-up also showed no significant association with neurodevelopmental outcomes in this cohort.
  • The predictive value of postnatal growth on neurodevelopmental outcomes in ELGAN may be less significant than previously thought.

Keywords:
DevelopmentELGANGrowthPreterm

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