Growth and intelligence development among a cohort of low birth weight infants / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To explore growth and intelligence development of low birth weight infants (LBWI) at 24 and 36 months of age, so as to provide reference for early monitoring and intervention of the development of LBWI.@*Methods@#A total of 100 LBWI born and managed in Hefei Maternal and Child Health Care Institution were selected from 2012 October 1 to 2015 December 30, and 99 normal birth weight infants (NBWI) under child health management in the same sitinstitution were selected as controls. According a prospective cohort study method, and based on the establishment of a cohort and monitoring of childhood growth and development, a unified method was used to longitudinally follow up and observe the physical fitness of two groups of infants at the determined time points. The development of LBWI and NBWI at 24 and 36 months of age was surveyed using the Gesell Development Scale.@*Results@#Weight, length and head circumference of LBWI children at the age of 15-36 months were significantly lower than those of NBWI children ( P <0.05). In addition, 117 children (43.98%) completed the full assessment of intelligent development scale, including 62 LBWI and 55 NBWI. The scores of Gesell in NBWI group was higher than that in LBWI group at 24 and 36 months of age, including adaptability, gross motor, fine metor skills, language and personal social functions ( t =-4.17, -3.82, -3.21 , -3.03, -2.61; -4.23, -3.16, -3.07, -3.13, -3.99, P <0.05). Multivariate linear regression analysis found that birth weight was positively correlated with adaptability, gross motor, fine motor skills, language functions at 24 and 36 months of age and personal social function at 36 months of age ( β =0.004, 0.010; 0.003, 0.008; 0.003, 0.007; 0.004, 0.009; 0.011, P ＜0.05).@*Conclusion@#The growth and development of LBWI children are significantly delayed compared to NBWI children. The scores of LBWI children are lower than those of NBWI children in all functional areas. Weight is the main factor affecting children s intellectual development. Early monitoring and intervention of low birth weight infants should be carried out to avoid or mitigate adverse consequences.