Kasuga Yoshifumi, Tanaka Mamoru
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Keio University School of Medicine, 5 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.
Pediatr Rep. 2025 Jan 16;17(1):8. doi: 10.3390/pediatric17010008.
Low birth weight (LBW) is a significant concern not only because of its association with perinatal outcomes, but also because of its long-term impact on future health. Despite the physical differences among individuals of different ethnicities, the definition of LBW remains the same for all ethnicities. This study aimed to explore and discuss this issue. We compiled national data from several countries and found that maternal height was negatively correlated with LBW incidence. We discovered the INTERGROWTH-21st chart may not be suitable for the Japanese population, as the Japanese birth weight chart differs from the INTERGROWTH-21st chart. Researchers have reported different LBW cutoff values used to assess adverse perinatal outcomes for different countries. However, there is currently no definition of LBW independent of the mother's country of origin that can be used for predicting the risk of adverse health outcomes. Therefore, the current era of personalized healthcare may be the perfect time to establish a standard definition of LBW which is independent of the mother's country of origin. Considering the future of healthcare, it seems an apt time to discuss the development of a more meaningful definition of LBW that can be applied across ethnicities. Further research is needed to investigate the cutoff values of LBW in every ethnicity.
低出生体重（LBW）不仅因其与围产期结局相关而备受关注，还因其对未来健康的长期影响而受到重视。尽管不同种族个体之间存在身体差异，但LBW的定义对所有种族而言都是相同的。本研究旨在探讨和讨论这一问题。我们汇总了多个国家的全国性数据，发现母亲身高与LBW发生率呈负相关。我们发现INTERGROWTH-21st图表可能不适用于日本人群，因为日本的出生体重图表与INTERGROWTH-21st图表不同。研究人员报告了不同国家用于评估不良围产期结局的不同LBW临界值。然而，目前尚无独立于母亲原籍国的LBW定义可用于预测不良健康结局的风险。因此，当前的个性化医疗时代可能是建立一个独立于母亲原籍国的LBW标准定义的绝佳时机。考虑到医疗保健的未来，似乎是讨论制定一个更有意义的、可适用于所有种族的LBW定义的时候了。需要进一步研究来调查每个种族的LBW临界值。
