The skinfold thickness in preterm infants.

The development of the subscapular, triceps and abdominal (suprailiac) skinfolds was studied in 120 healthy preterm infants with a birth weight below 2500 g at the age of 2 weeks, 1 month and 2 months. The skinfolds developed with the age of the infants, no gestational age related differences being noted. The triceps skinfold was thicker than the subscapular and abdominal skinfolds. The increase of skinfold thickness in identically-fed healthy appropriate-for-gestational-age preterm infants correlated with post-conceptional age. Small-for-gestational-age babies had thinner skinfold thicknesses up to a post-conceptional age of 44 weeks.