Contemporary definitions of infant growth failure and neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes in extremely premature infants at two years of age
Katie M. Strobel, Thomas R. Wood, Gregory C. Valentine, Kendell German, Semsa Gogcu, D Taylor Hendrixson, Sarah E. Kolnik, Janessa B. Law, Dennis E. Mayock, Bryan A. Comstock, Patrick J. Heagerty, Sandra E. Juul
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Associations of 2-year neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes with growth trajectories of preterm infants are unknown. METHODS: This secondary analysis of a preterm cohort examined in-hospital and discharge to 2-year changes in anthropometric z-scores. Two-year follow-up included Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-III) and Child Behavior Checklist. RESULTS: Among 590 infants, adjusted in-hospital growth was not associated with any BSID-III subscale. Occipitofrontal circumference (OFC) growth failure (GF) in-hospital was associated with increased adjusted odds of attention problems (aOR 1.65 [1.03, 2.65]), aggressive behavior (aOR 2.34 [1.12, 4.89]), and attention-deficit-hyperactivity symptoms (aOR 1.86 [1.05, 3.30]). Infants with OFC GF at 2 years had lower adjusted BSID-III language scores (-4.0 [-8.0, -0.1]), increased odds of attention problems (aOR 2.29 [1.11, 4.74]), aggressive behavior (aOR 3.09 [1.00, 9.56]), and externalizing problems (aOR 3.01 [1.07, 8.45]) compared to normal OFC growth cohort. CONCLUSION: Infants with OFC GF are at risk for neurodevelopmental and behavioral impairment. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study is a secondary analysis of pre-existing data from the PENUT Trial Registration: NCT01378273.