Construction of China national newborn growth standards based on a large low-risk sample
Xinnan Zong, Hui Li, Yaqin Zhang, Hua‐Hong Wu, Gengli Zhao, Hui Li, Yaqin Zhang, Xinnan Zong, Hua‐Hong Wu, Gengli Zhao, Qi Feng, Danhua Wang, Ying Pan, Hui-Juan Yang, Bo-Zhi Lu, Yajing Guo, Xiaomei Xiang, Min Dong, Jing Zhang, Mei Wei, Zhangbin Yu, Shuping Han, Aifen Zhou, Yaqi Zhang, Yong Guo, Xian Liu, Pin Ge, Fang Guo, Jun Zheng, Xiuying Tian, Bei Lin, Xiaomei Qiu, Shaojie Yue
Abstract
Most published newborn growth references are based on conventional monitoring data that usually included both low- and high-risk pregnancies. We sought to develop a set of neonatal growth standards constructed from only a large sample of low-risk pregnancies. A total of 24,375 naturally conceived singleton live births with gestational ages of 24-42 weeks were collected in 69 hospitals in thirteen Chinese cities between 2015 and 2018. Unhealthy infants or those with high-risk mother were excluded. Smoothed percentile curves of six anthropometric indicators were established using the Generalized Additive Model for Location, Scale and Shape. The 3rd, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 97th percentile references for birth weight, length, head circumference, weight/length, body mass index, and ponderal index were calculated for neonates with gestational ages of 24-42 weeks. This set of neonatal growth standards with six anthropometric indicators can provide more tools for growth and nutrition assessment and body proportionality in neonatal clinical practice. These standards might also help to show the differences between growth curves based on low-risk and mixed low- and high-risk pregnancies.