Dwarfism Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Dwarfism, including details on genetics, diet, mental and motor development.

Long-term height gain of prematurely born children with neonatal growth restraint: parallellism with the growth pattern of short children born small for gestational age.

Finken MJ, Dekker FW, de Zegher F, Wit JM,

Department of Pediatrics, Leiden University Medical Center, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, Netherlands. m.j.j.finken@lumc.nl

BACKGROUND: It is unknown whether children born very preterm (< 32 weeks' gestation) with appropriate size for gestational age, who grow poorly in the first postnatal months (ie, preterm growth restraint), show a similar growth pattern as children born small for gestational age. OBJECTIVE: Childhood growth and adult height of children with preterm growth restraint were compared to those of very preterm small-for-gestational-age and non-preterm-growth-restraint children. METHODS: Data were drawn from the Project on Preterm and Small-for-Gestational-Age Infants cohort. Preterm growth restraint was considered to have occurred after appropriate-size-for-gestational-age birth and if length and/or weight was below -2 SD score at 3 months postterm. RESULTS: Among 380 very preterm children, 274 experienced no preterm growth restraint and showed near-normal growth, whereas 79 (21%) experienced preterm growth restraint and subsequently displayed a growth pattern similar to that of very preterm small-for-gestational-age children (n = 27). Adult height of these children was -1.1 to -1.2 SD score. Very preterm small-for-gestational-age and preterm-growth-restraint children with a height below -2 SD score at 5 years had an adult height of approximately -2.5 SD score. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood growth and adult height were similar in very preterm small-for-gestational-age and preterm-growth-restraint children. These long-term findings further strengthen the plausibility of extending the small-for-gestational-age indication for growth hormone therapy in such a way that preterm-growth-restraint children are no longer excluded if they have a short stature persisting beyond the age of approximately 5 years.

Published 2 August 2006 in Pediatrics, 118(2): 640-3.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Dwarfism Research Today. All Rights Reserved.