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Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed 2007;92:F479-F483 doi:10.1136/adc.2006.109728
  • Original article
    • Original article

Fetal growth restriction: relation to growth and obesity at the age of 9 years

  1. Supratik Chakraborty1,
  2. Desaline Veronica Joseph1,
  3. Michael John Gordon Bankart1,
  4. Stewart A Petersen2,
  5. Michael P Wailoo3
  1. 1
    Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
  2. 2
    Department of Medical Education, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
  3. 3
    Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
  1. Dr Michael P Wailoo, Senior Lecturer in Child Health, Robert Kilpatrick Clinical Sciences Building, University of Leicester, PO Box: 65, Leicester LE2 7LX, UK; mw33{at}leicester.ac.uk
  • Accepted 6 February 2007
  • Published Online First 14 February 2007

Abstract

Objective: To assess growth patterns of 9-year-old children, some of whom had intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).

Method: 75 9-year-old children (41 were IUGR infants) were weighed and measured at birth, at 1 year, at 2 years and at 9 years of age. Using general linear models for continuous data, changes in weight z scores were used to quantify growth rate between birth and 9 years of age.

Results: IUGR children were smaller at birth (weight z score –2.1 v 0.2 in normal children; p<0.001) but showed a greater increase in their weight between birth and 9 years (change of weight z score 1.5 v 0.4 in normal children; p = 0.001). At the age of 9 years the weight, height and body mass index (BMI) z scores were lower in IUGR children than the control children (weight z score –0.4 v 0.6, respectively; p<0.001, height z score –0.5 v 0, respectively; p = 0.002, BMI z score −0.2 v 0.7, respectively; p = 0.002). The predictors of these differences were IUGR, birth weight and maternal and paternal heights.

Conclusion: IUGR infants grow faster but remain shorter and lighter than their normal counterparts—that is, they fail to fully catch up by 9 years of age.

Footnotes

  • This study was supported by a grant from Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland Primary Care Research Alliance.

  • Competing interests: None.

  • Abbreviations:
    BMI
    body mass index
    IUGR
    intrauterine growth restriction

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