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Gestational Age, Small for Gestational Age, and Infantile Colic
Author(s) -
Milidou Ioanna,
Søndergaard Charlotte,
Jensen Morten Søndergaard,
Olsen Jørn,
Henriksen Tine Brink
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
paediatric and perinatal epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.667
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3016
pISSN - 0269-5022
DOI - 10.1111/ppe.12095
Subject(s) - medicine , infantile colic , gestational age , odds ratio , obstetrics , pediatrics , small for gestational age , gestation , confidence interval , etiology , pregnancy , crying , psychiatry , biology , genetics
Background Preterm and growth restricted infants may have developmental delays and deviations from normal organ function related to the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system. Since both organ systems are hypothesised to be involved in the pathogenesis of infantile colic, a condition characterised by excessive crying during the first months of life, impaired fetal growth and preterm birth may be risk factors for infantile colic. Methods A total of 62 761 liveborn singletons from the D anish N ational B irth C ohort (1996 to 2002) were studied. Infantile colic was defined according to W essel's modified criteria based on maternal interview conducted at 6 months post‐partum. Results A total of 2605 (4.2%) infants were born preterm, 54 441 (86.7%) at term, and 5715 (9.1%) post‐term. A total of 4964 (7.9%) infants fulfilled W essel's modified criteria for infantile colic. The risk for infantile colic increased with decreasing gestational age after adjustment for covariates. The highest odds [odds ratio (95% confidence interval)] was observed for infants born before 32 completed gestational weeks (1.5 [95% CI 1.0, 2.2], reference: 40 gestational weeks). Small for gestational age infants (birthweight below 10th percentile) had an increased odds of infantile colic (1.2 [95% CI 1.1, 1.3]) in all gestational age groups. Conclusions We observed an increased risk of infantile colic in preterm and small for gestational age infants in a large cohort. Our results suggest that the aetiology of infantile colic may be found in the prenatal, perinatal, and neonatal period.