Growth Trajectories during the First 6 Years in Survivors Born at Less Than 25 Weeks of Gestation Compared with Those between 25 and 29 Weeks

Hiromichi Shoji; Yayoi Murano; Shuko Nojiri; Yoshiteru Arai; Kentaro Awata; Naho Ikeda; Natsuki Ohkawa; Naoto Nishizaki; Hiroki Suganuma; Ken Hisata; Masato Kantake; Kaoru Obinata; Toshiaki Shimizu

doi:10.3390/jcm11051418

Growth Trajectories during the First 6 Years in Survivors Born at Less Than 25 Weeks of Gestation Compared with Those between 25 and 29 Weeks

J Clin Med. 2022 Mar 4;11(5):1418. doi: 10.3390/jcm11051418.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan.
² Clinical Translational Science, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan.
³ Department of Neonatology, Juntendo University Shizuoka Hospital, 1129 Nagaoka, Izunokuni-shi, Shizuoka 410-2295, Japan.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital, Chiba 279-0021, Japan.
⁵ Department of Neonatology, Juntendo University Nerima Hospital, Tokyo 136-0075, Japan.

Abstract

We aimed to determine the differences in the growth trajectories of the youngest gestational survivors (<25 weeks’ gestation) up to 6 years of age compared to those of older gestational ages. Preterm infants were divided into two groups: 22−24 weeks’ gestation (male (M) 16, female (F) 28) and 25−29 weeks’ gestation (M 84, F 59). Z-scores of body weight (BW), body length (BL), and body mass index (BMI) were derived from Japanese standards at 1, 1.5, 3, and 6 years of corrected age. Comparisons between the two groups by sex were made using the Wilcoxon test and linear regression analysis to examine the longitudinal and time-point associations of anthropometric z-scores, the presence of small for gestational age (SGA), and the two gestational groups. BW, BL, BMI, and z-scores were significantly lower in the 22−24 weeks group at almost all assessment points. However, there were no significant differences in BW, BL, BMI, and z-scores between the two female groups after 3 years. BMI z-scores were significantly associated with the youngest gestational age and the presence of SGA at all ages in males, but not in females. The youngest gestational age had a greater influence in males on the z-score of anthropometric parameters up to 6 years of age.

Keywords: anthropometric z-scores; body mass index; periviable birth; preterm infants.