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Contribution of growth in fetal length to post‐natal length in Bangladesh children
Author(s) -
Frongillo Edward A,
Neufeld Lynnette M,
Wagatsuma Yukiko,
Hoang Lan N,
Arifeen Shams E,
Alam Dewan S,
Persson Lars A
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.334.2
Subject(s) - fetal growth , fetus , medicine , obstetrics , pediatrics , pregnancy , biology , genetics
Physical growth of children continues during the critical window from conception to 24 mo, punctuated by birth. In Asia especially, prenatal growth deficit is understood to partially explain post‐natal stunting, but this is not well characterized. This study quantified the contribution of pre‐ and post‐natal growth deficits to length at 24 mo using a unique cohort of 1931 children followed from first trimester of gestation to 24 mo from the Maternal Infant Nutritional Interventions Matlab (MINIMat) study in rural Bangladesh. Femur diaphysis length was assessed by trained paramedics at 14, 19, and 30 wk using real‐time ultrasound on a portable machine. Recumbent length was measured at birth then monthly to 12 mo and every 3 mo from 13 to 24 mo using length boards. British reference values (Chitty et al.) for fetal length and from the sex‐specific WHO 2006 growth standards for recumbent length were used to adjust for variation from nominal age. Quintiles formed from length at 24 mo revealed that femur length at 14 wk was unrelated to length at 24 mo. From linear regression with length at 24 mo as outcome, variance explained was 0.0, 1.1, 7.1, 23.2, and 53.2% for models adding sequentially length at 14 wk, 19 wk, 30 wk, birth, and 6 mo. Thus, 23% of variance at 24 mo was explained by fetal growth and 30% by the first 6 mo of post‐natal growth. The critical period of fetal growth for explaining length at 24 mo was the second half of gestation.