Umeå University's logo

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of overweight/obese children and to explore body composition in a Swedish cohort of preschool children born with marginally low birth weight (MLBW, ie, 2000-2500 g).

Study design: We included 285 Swedish children with MLBW (44% small for gestational age), and 95 control children with normal birth weights. At 3.5 years and 7 years of age, we assessed anthropometrics, including the prevalence of overweight/obese children. At 7 years, dual-energy X-ray was used for body composition.

Results: There were no significant differences between groups in the prevalence of overweight/obesity or in skinfold thickness; however, at 3.5 years, mean height, weight, and BMI in children with MLBW were 2.1 cm (95% CI 1.2-3.1), 1.2 kg (95% CI 0.7-1.6), and 0.47 kg/m(2) (95% CI 0.17-0.76) lower compared with controls. The corresponding mean differences also were lower in children with MLBW compared with control children at 7 years; 2.5 cm (95% CI 0.9-4.1), 1.6 kg (95% CI 0.6-2.8), and 0.48 kg/m(2) (95% CI 0.01-0.94). The differences were greater in those born small for gestational age. Dual-energy X-ray analyses showed lower fat-free mass index in MLBW infants and a similar trend in fat mass index. Within children with MLBW, BMI at 7 years correlated positively to growth velocity in infancy.

Conclusion: Children with MLBW had lower BMI and did not show increased risk of overweight or obesity up to 7 years. Nevertheless, the BMI in MLBW children was positively correlated to growth-velocity in infancy.

Background: Low birth weight (LBW, <2500 g) may predict an increased risk of an adverse cardiovascular profile later in life, but the magnitude in different settings and age at appearance are still unclear. We explored laboratory markers of cardiovascular risk inchildren born with marginally LBW (2000-2500 g).

Methods: This was a prospective observational study including 285 Swedish marginally LBW children and 95 normal birth weight (NBW, 2501-4500 g) controls. At 3.5 and 7 years of age, blood samples for glucose, insulin, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), cholesterol, triglycerides, high- and low-density lipoprotein (HDL and LDL), apolipoprotein B (ApoB) and apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) were assessed and compared between the groups.

Results: No significant differences in levels of insulin, HOMA-IR, hs-CRP or blood lipids were observed between marginally LBW and NBW children. However, at 7 years there was a higher proportion of marginally LBW children with elevated levels of insulin, defined as above the 90th percentile of the control group (21 % vs 8.6 %, p=0.038). Furthermore, in marginally LBW children born small for gestational age, fasting glucose was significantly higher compared to controls (4.7 vs 4.5 mmol/L, p=0.020).

Conclusions: While there were no significant differences in lipid profile or hs-CRP between marginally LBW children and controls, marginally LBW children showed, already at age 7, increased prevalence of elevated insulin levels, partly confounded by maternal birth country. The results indicate that a long-term risk of imbalanced glucose homeostasis is present, also in this common group of LBW children.

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) (≤2500 g) is associated with iron deficiency in infancy and high blood pressure (BP) later in life.

Objective: We investigated the effect of iron supplementation that was given to LBW infants on midchildhood BP.

Design: The study was a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial that included 285 marginally LBW (2000–2500-g) infants at 2 Swedish centers between May 2004 and November 2007. The infants were randomly assigned to receive a placebo or 1 or 2 mg Fe · kg−1 · d−1 from 6 wk to 6 mo of age. In secondary analyses at the age of 7 y, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and the prevalence of children with BP within the hypertensive range (>90th percentile) were compared between the groups.

Results: BP was analyzed via intention to treat in 189 children (66%). The mean ± SD SBP was 103 ± 8.1, 101 ± 7.5, and 101 ± 7.8 mm Hg in children who had received the placebo (n = 70), 1 mg Fe · kg−1 · d−1 (n = 54), or 2 mg Fe · kg−1 · d−1 (n= 65), respectively. When the iron-supplemented groups were combined in covariate-adjusted analyses, the mean SBP in LBW children who had received iron supplementation in infancy was 2.2 mm Hg (95% CI: 0.3, 4.2 mm Hg) lower than in those who were unsupplemented (P = 0.026). Multivariate logistic regression showed that iron supplementation in infancy reduced the odds of having an SBP within the hypertensive range at 7 y of age (OR: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.96). For DBP, there were no significant differences between the intervention groups.

Conclusions: LBW children who receive iron supplementation (1 or 2 mg Fe · kg−1 · d−1) in infancy have lower SBP at 7 y. This (to our knowledge) novel observation suggests that the increased risk of hypertension that is observed in children and adults who are born small might be reduced with early micronutrient interventions.

Background: Being born with very low birth weight (<1500 g) is associated with poorer neurocognition later in life. The aim of this study was to explore neurodevelopmental functions in those born with marginally LBW (2000–2500 g).

Methods: This was originally a randomized controlled trial investigating the effects of early iron supplementation in 285 marginally LBW children. Herein, we explored the combined marginally LBW group and compared their results to 95 normal birth weight (NBW; 2501–4500 g) controls in an observational design. At 7 years, a pediatric psychologist tested the children using Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC IV), Beery–Buktenica developmental test of Visual–Motor Integration (Beery VMI), and Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch).

Results: The marginally LBW children had lower verbal comprehension intelligence quotient (IQ) (104 vs. 107, P=0.004), lower VMI scores (96.5 vs. 100, P=0.028), and lower total mean TEA-Ch scores (8.5 vs. 9.7, P=0.006), compared to controls. Also, the marginally LBW children group had a higher proportion of children below −1 SD for VMI and TEA-Ch.

Conclusions: Marginally LBW children had lower verbal comprehension IQ, lower visual–motor integration, and lower attention performance than NBW children, suggesting an increased risk of cognitive difficulties in early school age