Birth Weight ; Body Height ; Fetal Growth Retardation ; Growth Disorders ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Newborn, Diseases

OBJECTIVETo investigate the intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and its determinants so as to provide evidence for maternal and child health care programs to be carried out.

METHODSFourteen townships were selected by cluster random sampling from 37 townships in Liuyang. A total of 6 105 pregnant women who had established their health care programs during April 2008 and March 2011, were recruited in this study. Records on pregnancy care manual and delivery were collected. 6 105 single live births were divided into two groups (IUGR group and control group). Those whose birth weight was below the 10th percentile for mean weight corrected for gestation age were grouped as IUGR group. Chi-square test and Multivariate logistic Regression method were used to estimate the determinants of IUGR.

RESULTSA total of 6 105 women, pregnant with a singleton gestation were enrolled in the study: 528 of these pregnancies were complicated with IUGR (8.65%). Data from the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that maternal age less than 25 (OR = 1.268), prim parity (OR = 1.706), BMI less than 18.5 kg/m² at first obstetrical examination (OR = 1.709), deficiency in weight gain during pregnancy (OR = 1.576) and pregnancy-induced hypertension syndrome (OR = 1.698) were related risk factors to intrauterine growth retardation.

CONCLUSIONMaternal age, prim parity, BMI, weight gain during pregnancy and pregnancy-induced hypertension syndrome were factors associated to the intrauterine growth retardation. Effective measures in reducing the intrauterine growth retardation should include factors as monitoring maternal weight and the change of weight during pregnancy in order to maintain the weight at normal ranges. Prevention and therapy for pregnancy-induced hypertension syndrome, should also be strengthened.

Birth Weight ; Body Weight ; Female ; Fetal Growth Retardation ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced ; Maternal Age ; Parity ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Risk Factors ; Weight Gain

OBJECTIVETo observe catch-up growth in height within two years of birth in infants of different sexes, gestational ages, and birth weights with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR).

METHODSFollow-up was performed on 294 IUGR infants and 300 healthy full-term infants at 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 and 24 months after birth to measure the height, calculate the height increase and compare the two groups with respect to height increase.

RESULTSThe success rates of catch-up growth in height were 72.2% in male infants and 71.5% in female infants (P=0.90), and were 77.4% in preterm small-for-gestational age (SGA) infants and 68.6% in full-term SGA infants (P=0.11). Success rates of catch-up growth in height in infants with birth weights between 1500-2499 g was higher than in those with birth weights of <1500 g and ≥2500 g (P<0.01). The male infants showed significant catch-up growth at 4, 6, 18, 21 and 24 months after birth, while significant catch-up growth was found in female infants at 4, 6, 9, 12 and 21 months after birth. Of the male infants, preterm SGA infants showed significantly greater height increase than the full-term SGA infants at 6 and 9 months after birth. Of the female infants, preterm SGA infants showed significantly greater height increase than the full-term SGA infants at 4 and 18 months after birth. For both male and female infants, height increase at 4 months after birth was significantly greater in those with birth weights of <1500 g than in those with birth weights of ≥2500 g. For male infants, height increases at 4, 6, 18, 21 and 24 months after birth were significantly greater in those with birth weights of 1500-2499 g than in those with birth weights of ≥2500 g. For female infants, height increases at 4, 6, 9, 12 and 21 months after birth were significantly greater in those with birth weights of 1500-2499 g than in those with birth weights of ≥2500 g.

CONCLUSIONSThe catch-up growth in height within two years of birth in infants with IUGR occurs mainly in the first year after birth in female infants, but can be seen in the first six months and the second year after birth in male infants. Preterm SGA infants better catch-up growth than full-term SGA infants, and infants with birth weights of below 1500 g and between 1500-2499 g show better catch-up growth than those with birth weights of ≥2500 g.

Birth Weight ; Body Height ; Female ; Fetal Growth Retardation ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Small for Gestational Age ; Male

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to assess the relationships between maternal plasma and umbilical cord leptin concentrations and their effects on newborn birth weights, maternal body mass indices and fetal sex in term normotensive (NT) and preeclampsia (PE) women. METHODS: Blood samples were obtained at delivery from 20 NT group and another 20 from PE group of at least 36 weeks of gestation. And the umbilical cord samples were also taken from their newborns at birth. Plasma leptin levels were determined in both groups using a human recombinant leptin 125-I radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: Mean maternal plasma and umbilical cord leptin concentrations were 16.16+/-2.05 ng/ml and 7.11+/-1.01 ng/ml in NT group, 17.09+/-1.67 ng/ml and 8.55+/-6.63 ng/ml in PE group, and there was no statistical significances among them. The differences of leptin concentrations in maternal plasma and umbilical cord according to baby sex were not significant in both NT and PE groups. Plasma leptin concentrations were related with maternal weight gain and BMI in NT group and with body weight in PE group. The BMI and birth weights of the neonates have significant effects on the umbilical cord leptin concentrations in both NT and PE groups. CONCLUSION: In this study, no correlation was found between maternal plasma and umbilical cord leptin concentrations in both NT and PE groups. But maternal plasma leptin concentrations had positive correlations with maternal body weight, BMI, and body weight changes during pregnancy in both NT and PE groups. There were also positive correlations among umbilical cord leptin concentrations, BMI and birth weights of the neonates of NT and PE groups term. Therefore umbilical cord leptin is considered to be the index of fetal birth weight.
Birth Weight ; Body Weight ; Body Weight Changes ; Female ; Fetal Blood* ; Fetal Weight* ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Leptin* ; Parturition ; Plasma* ; Pre-Eclampsia* ; Pregnancy ; Radioimmunoassay ; Umbilical Cord ; Weight Gain

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to assess the relationships between maternal plasma and umbilical cord leptin concentrations and their effects on newborn birth weights, maternal body mass indices and fetal sex in term normotensive (NT) and preeclampsia (PE) women. METHODS: Blood samples were obtained at delivery from 20 NT group and another 20 from PE group of at least 36 weeks of gestation. And the umbilical cord samples were also taken from their newborns at birth. Plasma leptin levels were determined in both groups using a human recombinant leptin 125-I radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: Mean maternal plasma and umbilical cord leptin concentrations were 16.16+/-2.05 ng/ml and 7.11+/-1.01 ng/ml in NT group, 17.09+/-1.67 ng/ml and 8.55+/-6.63 ng/ml in PE group, and there was no statistical significances among them. The differences of leptin concentrations in maternal plasma and umbilical cord according to baby sex were not significant in both NT and PE groups. Plasma leptin concentrations were related with maternal weight gain and BMI in NT group and with body weight in PE group. The BMI and birth weights of the neonates have significant effects on the umbilical cord leptin concentrations in both NT and PE groups. CONCLUSION: In this study, no correlation was found between maternal plasma and umbilical cord leptin concentrations in both NT and PE groups. But maternal plasma leptin concentrations had positive correlations with maternal body weight, BMI, and body weight changes during pregnancy in both NT and PE groups. There were also positive correlations among umbilical cord leptin concentrations, BMI and birth weights of the neonates of NT and PE groups term. Therefore umbilical cord leptin is considered to be the index of fetal birth weight.
Birth Weight ; Body Weight ; Body Weight Changes ; Female ; Fetal Blood* ; Fetal Weight* ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Leptin* ; Parturition ; Plasma* ; Pre-Eclampsia* ; Pregnancy ; Radioimmunoassay ; Umbilical Cord ; Weight Gain

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between cord serum adiponectin (APN) and IGF-I concentrations and fetal growth. METHODS: Umbilical cord serum APN and IGF-I concentrations were measured in healthy term singleton deliveries (n=72). The association of cord serum APN and IGF-I concentrations was evaluated in relation to birth weight, height, head circumference, gender, ponderal index, placental weight, feto-placental (F/P) weight ratio, maternal weight gain, and maternal body mass index (BMI). RESULTS: The mean cord serum APN was 29.2+/-10.46 microgram/mL. The cord serum APN and birth weight demonstrated a bell-shape relationship. The cord serum APN concentration was higher in females than males (P=0.001). The cord serum APN was negatively correlated with maternal BMI (r=-0.301, P=0.027), but the mean cord serum APN concentration was not correlated with birth height, birth head circumference, ponderal index, placental weight, F/P ratio, or maternal weight gain. The mean cord serum concentrations of IGF-I was 51.26+/-21.54 ng/mL. The cord serum IGF-I concentration was positively correlated with birth weight (r=0.312, P=0.009), but not birth height, ponderal index, placental weight, F/P weight ratio, or maternal BMI. CONCLUSION: APN demonstrated a bell-shaped relationship with birth weight in healthy term infants. IGF-I was highly correlated with fetal growth, especially birth weight.
Adiponectin ; Birth Weight ; Body Mass Index ; Female ; Fetal Development ; Head ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; Male ; Parturition ; Umbilical Cord ; Weight Gain

OBJECTIVE: To understand the correlation between leptin in cord blood and parameters indicating fetal growth and to investigate the relationship between leptin and growth hormone. METHODS: We measured leptin and growth hormone levels in the cord blood of 46 healthy neonates by radioimmunoassay (RIA), and analyzed the correlation of leptin with growth hormone, birth weight, gestational age, sex, birth height, body mass index, maternal body mass index (BMI), and Ponderal Index by Pearson correlation coefficients. RESULTS: Leptin concentration of cord blood was 5.16 g/l in median value; concentration in female cord blood was significantly higher than in male's (P=0.005). Growth hormone concentration was 28.60 g/l; there was no significant difference between female and male (P=0.584). There were significant correlations between leptin and birth weight, birth height, and BMI at birth, with correlation coefficients 0.56 (P=0.0001), 0.35 (P=0.017), and 0.35 (P=0.017), respectively. Growth hormone was correlated with leptin but statistically insignificant (P=0.085). And growth hormone was not correlated with gestational age, Ponderal Index or maternal BMI. CONCLUSION: Leptin is significantly correlated with fetal growth, and growth hormone is potentially correlated with fetal growth.
Birth Weight ; Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Female ; Fetal Blood* ; Fetal Development* ; Gestational Age ; Growth Hormone* ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn* ; Leptin* ; Male ; Parturition ; Radioimmunoassay

Objective: To establish the reference values and growth curves of length for weight and head circumference for weight among Chinese newborns in order to provide a reference for the assessment of body proportionality at birth. Methods: A cross-sectional design was applied. A total of 24 375 singleton live birth newborns with gestational ages at birth of 24⁺⁰ to 42⁺⁶ weeks were recruited from June 2015 to November 2018 from 13 cities including Beijing, Harbin, Xi'an, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Kunming, Tianjin, Shenyang, Changsha, and Shenzhen, excluding those with maternal or newborn conditions that may impact the establishment of the reference values. The generalized additive model for location, scale, and shape was employed to establish reference values in terms of percentile and growth curves of length for weight and head circumference for weight for male and female newborns. The random forest machine learning method was employed to analyze the importance of variables between the established reference values in this study and the previous published weight/length, body mass index (BMI), ponderal index (PI), weight/head circumference, length/head circumference in the assessment of symmetrical and asymmetrical small for gestational age (SGA) newborns. Results: A total of 24 375 newborns with 13 197 male infants (preterm birth 7 042 infants and term birth 6 155 infants) and 11 178 female infants (preterm birth 5 222 infants and term birth 5 956 infants) were included in this study. The reference values in terms of percentile (P₃, P₁₀, P₂₅, P₅₀, P₇₅, P₉₀, P₉₇) and growth curves of length for weight and head circumference for weight were obtained for male and female newborns with gestational ages of 24⁺⁰ to 42⁺⁶ weeks. The median birth lengths corresponding to the birth weights of 1 500, 2 500, 3 000, and 4 000 g were 40.4, 47.0, 49.3 and 52.1 cm for males and 40.4, 47.0, 49.2, and 51.8 cm for females, respectively; the median birth head circumferences were 28.4, 32.0, 33.2 and 35.2 cm for males and 28.4, 32.0, 33.1, and 35.1 cm for females, respectively. The differences of length for weight between males and females were minimum, with the difference range of -0.3 to 0.3 cm at P₅₀; the differences of head circumference for weight between males and females were minimum, with the difference range of 0 to 0.2 cm at P₅₀. Based on the match between birth length and birth weight for classifying symmetrical and asymmetrical SGA, length for weight and PI contributed the most, accounting for 0.32 and 0.25, respectively; based on the match between birth head circumference and birth weight, head circumference for weight and weight/head circumference contributed the most, accounting for 0.55 and 0.12, respectively; based on the match between birth length or head circumference with birth weight, head circumference for weight and length for weight contributed the most, accounting for 0.26 and 0.21, respectively. Conclusion: The establishment of the new standardized growth reference values and growth curves of length for weight and head circumference for weight among Chinese newborns are useful for clinical practice and scientific research.
Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Birth Weight ; Body Height ; China ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; East Asian People ; Fetal Growth Retardation ; Gestational Age ; Premature Birth ; Reference Values

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of alpha-lipoic acid on body weight and lipid profiles in Sprague-Dawley rats fed a high fat diet (HFD). After 4 weeks of feeding, rats on the HFD were divided into three groups by randomized block design; the first group received the high-fat-diet (n = 10), and the second group received the HFD administered with 0.25% alpha-lipoic acid (0.25LA), and the third group received the high-fat diet with 0.5% alpha-lipoic acid (0.5LA). The high fat diet with alpha-lipoic acid supplemented groups had significantly inhibited body weight gain, compared to that in the HFD group (P < 0.05). Organ weights of rats were also significantly reduced in liver, kidney, spleen, and visible fat tissues in rats supplemented with alpha-lipoic acid (P < 0.05). Significant differences in plasma lipid profiles, such as total lipids, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, and high-density lipoprotein, were observed between the HFD and 0.5LA groups. The atherogenic index and the plasma high density lipoprotein-cholesterol/total cholesterol ratio improved significantly with alpha-lipoic acid supplementation in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05). Total hepatic cholesterol and total lipid concentration decreased significantly in high fat fed rats supplemented with alpha-lipoic acid in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05), whereas liver triglyceride content was not affected. In conclusion, alpha-lipoic acid supplementation had a positive effect on weight gain and plasma and liver lipid profiles in rats.
Animals ; Body Weight ; Cholesterol ; Diet, High-Fat ; Kidney ; Lipoproteins ; Liver ; Organ Size ; Plasma ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spleen ; Thioctic Acid ; Triglycerides ; Weight Gain ; Weight Loss

The low birth weight infants have been fed with 15% concentration of Maeil Dry Milk G-80(Table 1) until the date of weight gaining to 2.5kg at the nursery room of our pediatric department, St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic Medical College. Feeding results were obtained as follows. 1. General physical condition was fair. The initial weight loss was average 6.8% of their birth weight and regaining of body weight started on 12th day of age(Table 2). 2. The frequency of stool passage was 1~6 times a day and normal yellowish stools were appeared on 8th day of age(Table 3). 91% of stools was the normal consistency and the other was loose stool. Mean value of stool pH examined on 10th day of age was 5.54(4.9~6.5) 3. Mean daily feeding amount of water, Calorie, protein and fat was 175ml, 131cal,3.4gm and 6.3gm per kg respectively(Table 4).
Birth Weight ; Body Weight ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Infant* ; Infant, Low Birth Weight* ; Infant, Newborn ; Milk* ; Nurseries ; Water ; Weight Gain ; Weight Loss