Seasonality of growth in Shanghai infants (n=4128) born in 11 consecutive years

Abstract

Objective: To describe the seasonal growth patterns in Shanghai infants, to explore seasonal time lag between weight gain and length gain, and to investigate the long-term effect of birth season on early postnatal growth. Design: Community-based longitudinal study. Setting: Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Method: Children were followed up monthly from 1 to 6 months, 3 monthly from 6 to 12 months, and 6 monthly from 12 to 24 months. Subjects: A total of 6018 children born between 1 January 1980 and 31 December 1990. Main outcome measures: Weight gain, length gain and change in body mass index (BMI) over the seasons of the year. Results: The infants tended to grow faster in height in spring and summer, and faster in weight and BMI in autumn and winter. The seasonal effect on weight gain and length gain is largely independent. The mean length value at 1 month of age was about 2.0 cm higher in infants born in May to July than in those born in November to February. At 24 months of age this difference was reduced to about 0.7 cm. Conclusions: There is a clear and consistent seasonality in growth in Shanghai infants. The seasonality seems to act independently on weight and length. Birth month has some association with attained size, but this is reduced during the ®rst 2 y of life. Sponsorship: Children's Hospital

Seasonal Variations of Neuromotor Development By 14 Months of Age: Hamamatsu Birth Cohort for Mothers and Children (HBC Study)

“…Consistency was found in that those who showed the largest changes in gross motor scores were those who spent warmer months during the corresponding period. This is consistent with studies from China and Japan indicating that growth in body size is accelerated during warmer seasons [12], [29], [30], irrespective of month of birth. To this point, neuromotor advantages observed between the 6th and 10th months of age among spring-born children, and catch-up growth observed between the 10th and 14th months of age among summer/autumn-born children, are likely attributable not to birth month per se, but rather to the season in which the spurt in gross motor skill actually occurs.…”

“…In relation to this, body weight at the age of 6, 10, and 14 months may account for seasonal fluctuation of gross motor development, as body weight increase has been indicated to be accelerated during summer months during the first and second years of life [7], [12]. Unfortunately, we did not measure body weight at the 6th and 14th month.…”

“…Similarly, winter-born children have been reported to grow fastest in terms of height during childhood [10], [11]. On the other hand, another study reported that the growth in height of infants speeds up during the summer months, irrespective of month of birth [12]. These findings suggest that seasonal patterns of developmental outcomes, if any, are connected with a complex picture of birth month seasonality, as well as seasonal effects on growth after birth.…”

Infant weight‐for‐length is positively associated with subsequent linear growth across four different populations

“…By contrast, Xu et al . (2001) found little evidence for a lagged response in length gain among infants in China born between 1980 and 1990 (Xu et al . 2001).…”

Early excessive growth with distinct seasonality in preschool obesity

“…This may be due to the overconsumption of food in obese children. However, one report has shown that the seasonal effect on weight and height gain was largely independent among infants in Shanghai 3. Further studies are therefore imperative to elucidate such findings.…”