Weight Status in First 2 Years of Life and Neurodevelopmental Impairment in ELGANs

Mandy B Belfort, Karl C K Kuban, T Michael O’Shea, Elizabeth N Allred, Richard A Ehrenkranz, Stephen C Engelke, Alan Leviton, Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborn (ELGAN) Study Investigators

J Pediatr. 2016 Jan;168:30-35.

PubMed Link

We examined extent of weight gain and weight status in first 2 yrs of life relate to risk of neurodevelopmental impairment in EP infants. Weight gain in lowest quartile from 7-28 days was not associated with ↑risk of adverse outcomes. Children w/12-mo wt z-score <-2 were at ↑risk for all adverse outcomes in girls, and for MC and GMFCS ≥1 in boys. Excluding children with motor impairment attenuated all associations except wt z-score <-2 w/MC in girls. Most associations of low wt z-score at 24 mos with adverse outcomes were attenuated when excluding children w/motor impairment.

ELGAN