Influence of neonatal anthropometry on the comorbidities of the obese patient

Abstract

Small for gestational age (SGA) newborns show an increased risk of several diseases such as short stature, childhood obesity, and metabolic comorbidities. The study included 883 obese patients (47% females/53% males; mean age: 10.33±3.32 years, BMI:+3.93±1.42 SD), with prospective follow-up (5 years) of growth, recording adult height when achieved (n=104). Comparisons at diagnosis, according to their neonatal anthropometry; adequate for gestational age (AGA; n=810) vs. SGA (n=73), were performed for the following features: age at their first visit, standardised height for target height (Z-score), bone age, adult height prediction, BMI (Z-score), glycaemia, insulinaemia, HOMA, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, 25-OH-vitamin D, area under the curve (AUC) for glucose and insulin in the OGTT, LDL/HDL and triglyceride/HDL ratio, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) and IGF-binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) serum levels. Despite similar BMI-SDS, ethnic, and pubertal distribution in both groups, patients with SGA showed more severe changes in lipid profile (triglyceride and triglyceride/HDL ratio, both P<.05) and carbohydrate metabolism (higher glycaemia, glucose and insulin AUCs, HOMA, HbA1c and lower whole-body insulin sensitivity index (WBISI), all P<.05) and lower 25-OH vitamin D levels (P<.05). They also showed a poorer adult height prediction (adjusted for target height) (P<.01), despite a similar degree of advance in skeletal maturation and similar IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels than AGA patients. The background of SGA neonatal anthropometry is associated with a higher prevalence and severity of metabolic comorbidities and to a poorer adult height prediction in obese children and adolescents.