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Updated: May 15, 2026

Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Association between postnatal anthropometric growth by term and high-performing neurodevelopment at age 3 years in
Takashi Maeda1,2, Yoshihiro Tanahashi3,4, Hideyuki Asada5,6
1Division of Neonatology, Center for Maternal-Neonatal Care, Nagoya University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
Objective:
To evaluate the relationship between postnatal growth by term and high-performing neurodevelopment in infants born at less than 28 weeks of gestational age.
Methods:
This retrospective study examined associations between anthropometric Z-scores (length, weight, head circumference) at 32, 36, and 40 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA) and neurodevelopment at age 3 categorized into four groups (delay, subnormal, normal, high-performing).
Results:
A total of 287 infants were evaluated. Body length at 40 weeks PMA was significantly associated with high-performing neurodevelopment (adjusted OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.49-2.32), followed by head circumference (adjusted OR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1.04-67). Changes in body length Z-scores from 36 to 40 weeks PMA were significantly associated with high-performing neurodevelopment, whereas body weight and earlier changes in Z-scores were not.
Conclusions:
In extremely preterm infants, body length growth by 40 weeks PMA was an independent predictor for high-performing neurodevelopment at age 3, whereas body weight and earlier growth changes did not.
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