The skinfold thickness in preterm infants

Area of Science:

• Neonatal physiology and development
• Pediatric nutrition and growth assessment

Background:

• Preterm infants exhibit unique growth patterns compared to full-term infants.
• Assessing subcutaneous fat is crucial for evaluating nutritional status in neonates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the development of skinfold thickness in healthy preterm infants.
• To determine the relationship between skinfold thickness and infant age and gestational age.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study of 120 healthy preterm infants (birth weight < 2500 g).
• Measurement of subscapular, triceps, and abdominal (suprailiac) skinfolds at 2 weeks, 1 month, and 2 months corrected age.
• Comparison of skinfold development between appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants.

Main Results:

• Skinfold thickness increased with infant age, independent of gestational age.
• Triceps skinfold was consistently thicker than subscapular and abdominal skinfolds.
• In identically-fed AGA preterm infants, skinfold thickness correlated with post-conceptional age.
• SGA infants exhibited thinner skinfolds up to a post-conceptional age of 44 weeks.

Conclusions:

• Subcutaneous fat deposition progresses with age in preterm infants.
• Triceps skinfold is a reliable indicator of fat stores in this population.
• Post-conceptional age is a key factor in skinfold development for preterm infants, with SGA infants showing delayed fat accumulation.