RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To study the physical growth characteristics of birthweight discordant twins(BDT)under 4 years old. METHODS: The physical growth characteristics of BDT under 4 years old born from September 2010 to December 2017 in child health care system of Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University were analyzed retrospectively. R 3.5.3 was used to clean up the database,analyze the distribution of different degree of birthweight discordance,and draw the fitting curves. More than 20% of birth weight difference was taken as inclusive criteria of BDT. BDT were divided into preterm or full-term groups,and low birthweight or normal birthweight groups respectively. SPSS 19.0 software was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 141 pairs of BDT were included,accounting for 15.4%(141/916). The degree of birthweight difference in premature BDT was higher than that of full-term BDT(t=3.820,P<0.001). The growth discordance of preterm BDT lasted longer. Physical growth of low/very low birthweight BDT was slower than that of normal birthweight BDT under 4 years old. The growth status of BDT didn't reach the average level of WHO growth chart by the time of the last follow-up. CONCLUSION: Birthweight discordance of twins could have longlasting effects on further growth and development. Preterm twins have higher degree of birthweight discordance,and the growth discordance lasts longer. Low birthweight is an important reason for growth retardation of the lighter BDT.Growth of BDT should be monitored regularly to increase follow-up compliance.