Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2009 Aug 5;6:51. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-6-51.
Prospective studies linking infant temperament, or behavioral style, to infant body composition are lacking. In this longitudinal study (3 to 18 months), we seek to examine the associations between two dimensions of infant temperament (distress to limitations and activity level) and two anthropometric indicators (weight-for-length z-scores (WLZ) and skin fold (SF) measures) in a population at high risk of overweight.
Data are from the Infant Care and Risk of Obesity Project, a longitudinal study of North Carolina low income African American mother-infant dyads (n = 206). Two temperament dimensions were assessed using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised. A high distress to limitations score denotes an infant whose mother perceives that s/he often cries or fusses, and a high activity level score one who moves his/her limbs and squirms frequently. Cross-sectional analyses were conducted using ordinary least squares regression. Fixed effects longitudinal models were used to estimate anthropometric outcomes as a function of time varying infant temperament.
In longitudinal models, increased activity levels were associated with later decreased fatness and WLZ. In contrast, high levels of distress to limitations were associated with later increased fatness at all time points and later increased WLZ at 12 months.
Infant temperament dimensions contribute to our understanding of the role of behavior in the development of the risk of overweight in the formative months of life. Identification of modifiable risk factors early in life may help target strategies for establishing healthy lifestyles prior to the onset of overweight.
将婴儿气质（或行为风格）与婴儿身体成分联系起来的前瞻性研究较少。在这项纵向研究（3 至 18 个月）中，我们试图研究婴儿气质的两个维度（对限制的痛苦和活动水平）与两个人体测量指标（体重长度 z 分数（WLZ）和皮肤褶皱（SF）测量值）之间的关联，在超重风险较高的人群中。
数据来自婴儿护理和肥胖风险项目，这是一项对北卡罗来纳州低收入非裔美国母婴对（n = 206）的纵向研究。使用婴儿行为问卷修订版评估了两个气质维度。高痛苦限制分数表示母亲认为婴儿经常哭泣或烦躁不安，高活动水平分数表示婴儿经常移动四肢和蠕动。使用普通最小二乘法回归进行横截面分析。使用固定效应纵向模型来估计作为时间变化婴儿气质函数的人体测量结果。
在纵向模型中，活动水平的提高与后来的肥胖度和 WLZ 的降低有关。相比之下，高限制痛苦水平与所有时间点的后来肥胖度增加以及 12 个月时的后来 WLZ 增加有关。
婴儿气质维度有助于我们理解行为在生命形成期超重风险发展中的作用。在超重发生之前，尽早确定可改变的危险因素可能有助于确定建立健康生活方式的策略。
