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Growth Charts for Children With Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita
Lauren C Hyer1, Emily R Shull1, Bob Fray2
1Department of Orthopedics, Shriners Children's Greenville, Greenville, SC, USA.
Insights
New growth charts for children with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC) show they are smaller than typically developing peers, especially in early childhood. These charts aid healthcare providers in monitoring growth for children with AMC.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Growth and Development
- Genetics and Rare Diseases
Background:
- Children with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC) exhibit distinct growth patterns compared to typically developing (TD) children.
- Existing growth charts do not adequately represent the AMC population, hindering accurate growth assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop the first AMC-specific growth charts for height/length and weight.
- To compare growth percentiles of children with AMC against TD children.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of growth data (height/length and weight) from 206 children diagnosed with AMC.
- Development of AMC-specific growth charts stratified across seven percentiles.
- Comparative analysis of AMC growth charts with established TD growth charts.
Main Results:
- Children with AMC are generally smaller in stature and weight than TD children, particularly during the first 36 months of life.
- Post-36 months, weight for AMC children approaches the 50th percentile of TD children.
- Height/length for AMC children consistently remains near the 5th percentile of TD children.
Conclusions:
- AMC-specific growth charts offer an objective tool for healthcare providers to monitor and evaluate the growth of children with AMC.
- These charts highlight significant and persistent growth differences in children with AMC, especially concerning height.
- The findings underscore the need for specialized growth monitoring in the AMC population.
Abstract:
Children with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita (AMC) often demonstrate growth differences compared with typically developing (TD) children. However, growth charts have not been developed for this population. The purpose of this study was to create AMC-specific growth charts and to compare these values to those of TD children. A retrospective review of height/length and weight for 206 children with AMC was performed. Growth charts were developed and stratified over seven percentiles; these were then compared with growth charts of TD children. Children with AMC tend to be smaller in stature and weight compared with TD children, particularly in the first 36 months of life. Thereafter, weight values trend toward the 50th percentile of TD children, but height/length values persist around the 5th percentile of TD children. The development of AMC-specific growth charts provides health care providers an objective tool to evaluate growth patterns of patients with AMC.
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