Abstract：
BACKGROUND: Premature and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants tend to have long-term growth morbidities such as short stature, failure to thrive, and obesity. Although most of these infants show catch-up growth at 2-4 years of age, they are still more susceptible to childhood obesity and related metabolic disorders. Those who fail to achieve catch-up will suffer from pathological short stature and neurodevelopmental impairment through adulthood. This study aims to depict the growth pattern of premature or SGA infants and their growth morbidities in Taiwan.
METHODS: Data were obtained from a nationally representative cohort of 24,200 pairs of postpartum women and newborns in the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study (TBCS), using structured questionnaire interviews. A total of 16,358 infants were included and three follow-up surveys were completed at 6, 18, and 36 months after the deliveries. We constructed growth curves to conduct an in-depth investigation into anthropometric data, applying a linear mixed model. Logistic regression was used to model the relevant outcomes, with adjustment for various potential confounding factors.
RESULTS: Despite being born shorter and lighter, preterm and SGA infants generally showed catch-up growth and had no higher odds ratios (ORs) of developing short stature or failure to thrive compared to appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) term infants before 3 years of age. Preterm SGA infants, particularly females, had higher ORs for obesity at the 36-month follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS: This is the first nationwide population-based study depicting the growth of SGA infants in Taiwan. The growth patterns of preterm and term SGA infants are different from those of preterm and term AGA infants. Further research is necessary to understand the growth trajectories of preterm and SGA infants and their associations with later diseases.
METHODS: Data were obtained from a nationally representative cohort of 24,200 pairs of postpartum women and newborns in the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study (TBCS), using structured questionnaire interviews. A total of 16,358 infants were included and three follow-up surveys were completed at 6, 18, and 36 months after the deliveries. We constructed growth curves to conduct an in-depth investigation into anthropometric data, applying a linear mixed model. Logistic regression was used to model the relevant outcomes, with adjustment for various potential confounding factors.
RESULTS: Despite being born shorter and lighter, preterm and SGA infants generally showed catch-up growth and had no higher odds ratios (ORs) of developing short stature or failure to thrive compared to appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) term infants before 3 years of age. Preterm SGA infants, particularly females, had higher ORs for obesity at the 36-month follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS: This is the first nationwide population-based study depicting the growth of SGA infants in Taiwan. The growth patterns of preterm and term SGA infants are different from those of preterm and term AGA infants. Further research is necessary to understand the growth trajectories of preterm and SGA infants and their associations with later diseases.
摘要：
背景：早产和小于胎龄（SGA）的婴儿往往有长期的生长发病率，如身材矮小，未能茁壮成长，和肥胖。尽管这些婴儿大多数在2-4岁时表现出追赶性生长，他们仍然更容易患儿童肥胖和相关的代谢紊乱。那些未能实现追赶的人将在成年期遭受病理性身材矮小和神经发育障碍。这项研究旨在描述台湾早产儿或SGA婴儿的生长模式及其生长发病率。
方法：数据来自台湾出生队列研究（TBCS）的24,200对产后妇女和新生儿的全国代表性队列，使用结构化问卷访谈。总共纳入了16,358名婴儿，并在分娩后6、18和36个月完成了三项随访调查。我们构建了生长曲线，对人体测量数据进行了深入研究，应用线性混合模型。采用Logistic回归对相关结果进行建模，对各种潜在的混杂因素进行调整。
结果：尽管出生时更短更轻，早产儿和SGA婴儿通常表现出追赶型生长,与3岁前适龄足月婴儿(AGA)相比,发育矮小或不能茁壮成长的比值比(ORs)不高.早产儿SGA,尤其是女性，在36个月的随访中，肥胖的ORs较高。
结论：这是第一个全国性的基于人群的研究，描述了台湾SGA婴儿的生长情况。早产和足月SGA婴儿的生长模式与早产和足月AGA婴儿的生长模式不同。需要进一步的研究来了解早产儿和SGA婴儿的生长轨迹及其与后期疾病的关系。
方法：数据来自台湾出生队列研究（TBCS）的24,200对产后妇女和新生儿的全国代表性队列，使用结构化问卷访谈。总共纳入了16,358名婴儿，并在分娩后6、18和36个月完成了三项随访调查。我们构建了生长曲线，对人体测量数据进行了深入研究，应用线性混合模型。采用Logistic回归对相关结果进行建模，对各种潜在的混杂因素进行调整。
结果：尽管出生时更短更轻，早产儿和SGA婴儿通常表现出追赶型生长,与3岁前适龄足月婴儿(AGA)相比,发育矮小或不能茁壮成长的比值比(ORs)不高.早产儿SGA,尤其是女性，在36个月的随访中，肥胖的ORs较高。
结论：这是第一个全国性的基于人群的研究，描述了台湾SGA婴儿的生长情况。早产和足月SGA婴儿的生长模式与早产和足月AGA婴儿的生长模式不同。需要进一步的研究来了解早产儿和SGA婴儿的生长轨迹及其与后期疾病的关系。
