Su Yi-Yu, Chen Chi-Jen, Chen Mei-Huei, Chang Hsi, Chen Chung-Ming, Lin Hsiu-Chen, Guo Yueliang Leon, Hsieh Wu-Shiun, Chen Pau-Chung
Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, National Taiwan University, College of Public Health, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Pediatrics, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Public Health, Taipei, Taiwan.
Pediatr Neonatol. 2025 Mar;66(2):168-175. doi: 10.1016/j.pedneo.2024.06.007. Epub 2024 Aug 2.
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.
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.
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.
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.
早产和小于胎龄（SGA）婴儿往往存在长期生长问题，如身材矮小、发育不良和肥胖。尽管这些婴儿中的大多数在2至4岁时会出现追赶生长，但他们仍更容易患儿童肥胖症及相关代谢紊乱。那些未能实现追赶生长的婴儿在成年后将患有病理性身材矮小和神经发育障碍。本研究旨在描述台湾早产或SGA婴儿的生长模式及其生长问题。
数据来自台湾出生队列研究（TBCS）中具有全国代表性的24200对产后妇女和新生儿队列，采用结构化问卷调查。共纳入16358名婴儿，并在分娩后6、18和36个月完成了三次随访调查。我们构建生长曲线以深入研究人体测量数据，应用线性混合模型。使用逻辑回归对相关结果进行建模，并对各种潜在混杂因素进行调整。
尽管早产和SGA婴儿出生时身高和体重较短，但与足月儿适于胎龄（AGA）婴儿相比，在3岁之前，他们通常表现出追赶生长，患身材矮小或发育不良的比值比（OR）并不更高。早产SGA婴儿，尤其是女性，在36个月随访时肥胖的OR更高。
这是台湾第一项基于全国人群的描述SGA婴儿生长情况的研究。早产和足月SGA婴儿的生长模式与早产和足月AGA婴儿不同。有必要进一步研究以了解早产和SGA婴儿的生长轨迹及其与后期疾病的关联。
