The growth rates and influencing factors of preterm and full-term infants: A birth cohort study

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the growth rates and influencing factors of the length and weight of preterm and full-term infants in the urban areas of Hubei province to provide a reference for child health and related clinical fields. A birth cohort study was used to analyze the growth rates and influencing factors of the length and weight of preterm and full-term infants using a multivariate regression analysis. The growth rates of the length and weight of preterm infants were significantly lower than those of full-term infants from birth to 3 months of age (P < .05), and gradually caught up to the level of full-term infants after 3 months of age (P > .05). Meanwhile, there were some influencing factors that had significant differences by their contribution to the growth rates of the length and weight of preterm and full-term infants. This study proposed that perinatal factors were attached more importance to the growth rates of preterm infants in the urban areas of Hubei province.

Adverse Skeletal Muscle Adaptations in Individuals Born Preterm—A Comprehensive Review

“…Infants born prematurely show significantly lower weight and length growth rates than those of infants born at full term in the first three months after birth [65]; thus, nutritional interventions that include intravenous amino acid supplementation have been employed immediately after birth to accelerate fat-free mass accretion [66,67]. Unlike insulin, essential amino acids-especially leucine-stimulate the mTOR pathway through their interactions with Ras-related GTP-binding proteins (Rags), thereby activating muscle protein synthesis and fat-free mass accretion [68].…”