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Premature birth was not associated with increased body fatness in four‐year‐old boys and girls
Author(s) -
Forsum Elisabet Katarina,
Flinke Eva,
Olhager Elisabeth
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.14990
Subject(s) - medicine , body mass index , gestational age , birth weight , plethysmograph , pediatrics , fat mass , mass index , fat free mass , pregnancy , endocrinology , biology , genetics
Aim Premature birth is a worldwide problem and increases the risk of chronic disease later in life. Prematurely born infants may have a high percentage of body fat at term‐equivalent age, but it is unclear if this characteristic is maintained in childhood. Therefore, we compared the size and body composition of four‐year‐old prematurely born children to such values of full‐term controls. Methods Between 2013 and 2015, we assessed weight, height, fat mass and fat‐free mass, using air displacement plethysmography in 188 reasonably healthy prematurely born four‐year‐olds (98 boys). Results At four years of age, prematurely born children (gestational weeks at birth: 23.3‐36.9) tended to be lighter and shorter and to contain less fat mass and fat‐free mass than did full‐term controls. The gestational age at birth of the prematurely born children correlated positively and significantly ( P < .05) with height, weight, body mass index, fat mass (kg, %), fat mass index and fat‐free mass (kg) in girls but not in boys. Conclusion Prematurity was not associated with increased body fatness in our four‐year‐olds. Our findings are relevant in relation to previously published results showing that premature birth is associated with chronic disease later in life.