Zhonggui Xiong
Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Hubei Province, China
Title: Pathogenesis of the growth rates of preterm and full-term infants: A birth cohort study
Biography
Biography: Zhonggui Xiong
Abstract
Abstract
Statement of the Problem: Infant growth rates are a nonlinear and significant variation which is a series of alternating processes of rapid growth and stagnation. However, the growth pattern of preterm infants is significantly different from that of full-term infants at different ages of life. Longitudinal follow-up has seldom been used to explore the growth rates, IGF-1 and IGFBP-3, and influencing factors of preterm and full-term infants. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify the pathogenesis of the growth rates of preterm and full-term infants, and to take effective intervention measures to promote infant growth and development.
Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: Longitudinal follow-up data were collected regularly from routine health visits for preterm and full-term infants. Pediatricians monitored the length and weight of preterm and full-term infants at birth, 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of ages using the standard method of physical measurements. A birth cohort study was used to analyze the pathogenesis of the growth rates of preterm and full-term infants.
Findings: The growth rates of the length and weight of preterm infants were significantly lower than those of full-term infants from birth to 3 months of age (P < 0.05), and gradually caught up to the level of full-term infants after 3 months of age (P > 0.05). The serum titers of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 of preterm infants were significantly lower than those of full-term infants at 6 and 12 months of ages (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, there were some influencing factors that had significant differences by their contribution to the growth rates of preterm and full-term infants.
Conclusion & Significance: The interaction of various biological and environmental factors regulated the pathogenesis of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 through DNA methylation, and jointly affected the growth rates of preterm infants. Therefore, multidisciplinary interventions should be developed to promote the growth rates of preterm infants within the first 3 months of corrected age.