Early Growth Measurements Research Articles

Differences between WHO AND CDC early growth measurements in the assessment of Cystic Fibrosis clinical outcomes

BackgroundEarly childhood growth status has been used to predict long-term clinical outcomes in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients. Adulthood CF outcomes based on early weight-for-length (WFL) measurements, using either World Health Organization (WHO) or Centers for Disease Control (CDC) scales, have not been compared. MethodsCystic Fibrosis Foundation registry patients were studied (n=3014). Participants were categorized at age two years as WFL <50th percentile on both WHO and CDC scales, ≥50th percentile on WHO but not CDC, or ≥50th percentile on both. Pulmonary function and overall survival were assessed at age 18years. ResultsStepwise gains in pulmonary function and lung transplant-free survival were noted across the three increasing WFL categories. ConclusionsChildren with CF who achieve higher WFL at age two years have improved pulmonary and survival outcomes into adulthood. CF providers should continue to utilize current early growth recommendations, with goal WFL ≥50th percentile on CDC growth charts before age two.

Impact of birth parameters and early life growth patterns on retinal microvascular structure in children: The Generation R Study.

The aim of the study was to examine the associations of birth outcomes and longitudinally measured fetal and infant growth patterns with retinal vessel calibers in childhood. In a population-based prospective cohort study among 4122 children, we measured growth characteristics in second and third trimester of pregnancy, at birth, and at 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 72 months. At the age of 6 years, we measured retinal arteriolar and venular calibers from digitized retinal photographs. We observed that compared with term-born children, those born preterm had narrower retinal arteriolar caliber [differences -0.46 standard deviation score (95% confidence interval -0.77 to -0.15) and -0.24 standard deviation score (95% confidence interval -0.42 to -0.05) for children born <34 and 34-37 weeks of gestation, respectively]. Children born with a low birth weight (<2500 g) had narrower retinal arteriolar caliber than children with a normal birth weight, but this association was fully explained by gestational age at birth. Accelerated infant growth until 24 months was associated with narrow retinal arteriolar caliber, especially among preterm-born children (P < 0.05). Early growth measures were not associated with retinal venular caliber. Preterm birth and accelerated infant growth are associated with narrower retinal arteriolar caliber in childhood. Whether these microvascular adaptations explain the well known associations of fetal and infant characteristics with cardiovascular disease in later life should be further studied.

Effect of genotype by spacing interaction on radiata pine genetic parameters for height and diameter growth

Effect of genotype by spacing interaction on radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) height and diameter at breast height (DBH) growth was studied using three spacings (1×1m, 1×2m and 2×3m) and 55 half-sib families in a long-term progeny trial. Examined were the effect of spacing and family on early tree height and diameter growth up to 10years, and on annual ring width (RW) and accumulated DBH of the surviving trees up to age 28years. The effects of spacing on heritability, and age–age genetic correlations were also studied using multiple-year measurements. Spacing had little or limited impact on tree height growth, but a highly significant effect on diameter growth. Spacing also had no significant effect on heritability for tree height, but a very significant effect on the patterns and values of heritability for diameter and DBH growth. Closer spacing was found to depress heritability estimates for DBH. Spacing was also observed to have a significant impact on age–age genetic correlation, and the higher competition level at closer spacing treatment distorted the age–age genetic correlation patterns for DBH due to higher mortality. The spacing effect on heritability was more apparent from early growth measurements due to relatively small mortality compared with the late age measurements. Our current study for the first time revealed significant and useful genotype by spacing interactions in radiata pine for DBH growth. The significant genotype by spacing interactions were mainly caused by a few well-performing families reacting more to spacing changes. Therefore, matching genotype with spacing has the potential to increase productivity of radiata pine plantations.

The long-term predictive validity of early motor development in “apparently normal” ELBW survivors

BackgroundWithin the able majority of ELBW survivors, there is a lack of identified predictors of which children will require extra support despite having escaped significant disability. AimsInvestigate the predictive validity of early motor scores, compared to that of perinatal descriptors or early growth, on long-term motor impairment in non-disabled ELBW (<1000g) children. Study designProspective longitudinal study. Outcome measures48 non-disabled ELBW children (27 male) completed the Neurosensory Motor Developmental Assessment (NSMDA) at 8months, 2years and 4years post term and The Motor Assessment Battery for Children (MABC) at 11–13years of age. Other possible predictors of long-term outcomes (gestational age, birthweight, multiple birth, head circumference measures and gender) were retrieved from the records. ResultsEarly motor assessment (NSMDA score) independently predicted the MABC total score at 11–13years of age with a positive predictive value of 87% by 4years post term. There was increased risk of long-term motor impairment associated with male gender but the degree of prematurity, multiple birth status or early growth measures did not predict motor outcome. Postural control and sensory motor scores at 4years post term, rather than neurological score, were associated with long-term motor outcomes for the ELBW children at 11–13years of age. ConclusionsEarly motor scores are valid markers of long-term motor outcomes for “apparently normal” ELBW children. Early postural competence and sensory motor function are discriminating in regards to long-term motor function in neurologically normal ELBW children.

Birth weight, postnatal weight gain, and adult body composition in five low and middle income countries

To evaluate the associations between birth weight (BW), infancy, and childhood weight gain and adult body composition. Subjects included participants of five birth cohort studies from low and middle income nations (Brazil, Guatemala, India, Philippines, and South Africa; n = 3432). We modeled adult body composition as a function of BW and conditional weight gain (CW), representing changes in weight trajectory relative to peers, in three age intervals (0-12 months, 12-24 months, 24 months-mid childhood). In 34 of 36 site- and sex-specific models, regression coefficients associated with BW and CWs were higher for adult fat-free than for fat mass. The strength of coefficients predicting fat-free mass relative to those predicting fat mass was greatest for BW, intermediate for CWs through 24 months, and weaker thereafter. However, because fat masses were smaller and showed larger variances than fat-free masses, weaker relationships with fat mass still yielded modest but significant increases in adult % body fat (PBF). CW at 12 months and mid-childhood tended to be the strongest predictors of PBF, whereas BW was generally the weakest predictor of PBF. For most early growth measures, a 1 SD change predicted less than a 1% change in adult body fat, suggesting that any health impacts of early growth on changes in adult body composition are likely to be small in these cohorts. BW and weight trajectories up to 24 months tend to be more strongly associated with adult fat-free mass than with fat mass, while weight trajectories in mid-childhood predict both fat mass and fat-free mass.

Infant growth and later body composition: evidence from the 4-component model

BackgroundRapid weight gain in infancy is associated with higher body mass index in later life, but its relation with individual body-composition components remains unclear. ObjectiveWe aimed to investigate associations between weight gain during different periods in infancy and later fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM). DesignBody composition was assessed by using the 4-component model, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and anthropometry in 234 healthy UK children and adolescents (105 boys; x ± SD age: 11.4 ± 3.8 y). Early growth measurements were prospective in 52 subjects and retrospective in 182. Relative weight gain was calculated as change in SD score (SDS) during different periods. ResultsRelative weight gain from 0 to 3 mo and from 3 to 6 mo showed positive relations with childhood FM, waist circumference, and trunk FM that were equivalent to increases in FMI (FM/height2) of 0.24 SDS (95% CI: 0.04, 0.44) and 0.50 SDS (0.25, 0.75) per 1-SDS increase in early weight and that were comparable to the effect of current obesity risk factors. Relative weight gain from 0 to 3 mo was also positively associated with later FFMI (FFM/height2). Relative weight gain from 6 to 12 mo was not associated with later body composition. Associations were independent of birth weight, sex, puberty, physical activity, socioeconomic class, ethnicity, and parental body mass index. ConclusionsIn this Western population, greater relative weight gain during early infancy was positively associated with later FM and central fat distribution and with FFM. Rapid weight gain in infancy may be a risk factor for later adiposity. Early infancy may provide an opportunity for interventions aimed at reducing later obesity risk.

No evidence that established type 2 diabetes susceptibility variants in the PPARG and KCNJ11 genes have pleiotropic effects on early growth

The P12A variant in the PPARG gene and the E23K polymorphism in KCNJ11 are both known to influence individual predisposition to type 2 diabetes. If the effect of these variants on insulin secretion and action were to extend to an influence on early growth (which is largely mediated by insulin), it would offer an explanation for observed associations between low birthweight and subsequent diabetes. Since previous studies of the effects of these variants on early growth have been limited and conflicting, we examined these associations in a large, well-characterised birth cohort. The P12A and E23K variants were genotyped in (respectively) 5,652 and 5,632 individuals from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort of 1966 and we sought associations with early growth phenotypes. Neither variant was associated with birthweight (P12A, p = 0.42; E23K, p = 0.44, additive models) or other measures of early growth. Although a previous report had suggested that the P12A effect on adult insulin sensitivity was restricted to small babies, we were unable to reproduce this finding (p = 0.40), nor did we confirm a previous report of an association with gestational age (p = 0.23). Despite a larger sample size than previous studies, we were unable to detect any effect of these variants on early growth. These findings do not support the notion that there are shared genetic determinants of low birthweight and adult diabetes.

Detailed Analysis of Variation at and around Mitochondrial Position 16189 in a Large Finnish Cohort Reveals No Significant Associations with Early Growth or Metabolic Phenotypes at Age 31 Years

Mitochondrial dysfunction is increasingly implicated in pathogenesis of adult metabolic disease. Rare mitochondrial (mt) DNA mutations impair glucose homeostasis, but the contribution of common variants is unclear. In small studies, variation within the OriB origin of replication (at mt16189 in particular) has been associated with both early growth and adult metabolic phenotypes and may contribute to life-course relationships between the two. The aim was to study a large well-characterized cohort to determine whether previously reported small-scale associations between OriB sequence variation and early growth and adult metabolic phenotypes are robust. This was a genetic association study of 5470 individuals from the population-based Northern Finland Birth Cohort of 1966, followed prospectively from pregnancy to age 31 yr. We measured indices of early growth (including birth weight, placental weight, and ponderal index) and adult metabolic homeostasis (including body mass index, fasting glucose and insulin, indices of insulin action and secretion) and their relationship to variation in the OriB region. Previously reported associations could not be confirmed. There were no significant (P < 0.01, uncorrected) associations between OriB sequence variation and measures of early growth including birth weight (P = 0.52, comparing individuals with mt16189T to those with a homopolymeric C-tract) and placental weight (P = 0.49). There were no significant associations with adult metabolic phenotypes including fasting glucose (P = 0.07), fasting insulin (P = 0.42), and homeostatic model assessment-derived measures of insulin sensitivity or secretion (P = 0.45 and P = 0.56, respectively). Despite substantial power to detect previously reported effects, mtDNA variations around OriB are not major contributors to variation in early growth and metabolic phenotypes during early adulthood.

Early Life Factors and Blood Pressure at Age 31 Years in the 1966 Northern Finland Birth Cohort

Data on the birth weight-blood pressure relationship are inconsistent. Although an inverse association has been suggested in several large studies, interpretation is complicated by publication and other biases. Few data are available on the relationship between other early growth measures and blood pressure. We examined the shape and size of association between determinants of fetal growth, size at birth, growth in infancy, and adult systolic and diastolic blood pressure at 31 years in the prospective northern Finnish 1966 birth cohort of 5960 participants. Birth weight, birth length, gestational age, ponderal index, and birth weight relative to gestational age showed a significant inverse association with blood pressure at age 31. Rapid growth in infancy ("change-up") was positively associated with blood pressure. Adjusted regression coefficients for birth weight indicated systolic/diastolic blood pressure lower by -1.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], -2.5, -1.0)/-0.7 (95% CI, -1.4, -0.02) mm Hg for 1 kg higher birth weight. The significant inverse association between birth weight and systolic blood pressure persisted without adjustment for adult body mass index for males. Among females, gestational age showed a stronger association with blood pressure than birth weight: gestational age higher by 7 weeks (equivalent to an average of 1 kg higher birth weight) among singletons associated with -2.9 (95% CI, -4.7, -1.1) mm Hg lower systolic blood pressure. Our results support the concept that birth weight, other birth measures, and infant growth are important determinants of blood pressure and hence cardiovascular disease risk in later life.

Thermally Induced Chronic Developmental Stress in Coho Salmon: Integrating Measures of Mortality, Early Growth, and Developmental Instability

Developmental stability, or homeostasis, facilitates the production of consistent phenotypes by buffering against stress. Fluctuating asymmetry is produced by developmental instability and is manifested as small random departures from bilateral symmetry. Increased fluctuating asymmetry is thought to parallel compromised fitness, in part, because stress promotes energy dissipation. Compensatory energy expenditures within the organism are required to complete development, thus promoting instability through reductions in homeostasis. Increased heterozygosity may enhance developmental stability by reducing energy dissipation from stress through increased metabolic efficiency, possibly by providing greater flexibility in metabolic pathways. Traditionally, fluctuating asymmetry has been used as a bioindicator of chronic stress, provided that selective mortality of less fit individuals did not reduce stress-mediated increases in fluctuating asymmetry to background levels produced by natural developmental error, or create data inconsistencies such as higher asymmetry in groups exposed to lower stress. Unfortunately, absence of selective mortality and its effects, while often assumed, can be difficult to substantiate. We integrated measures of early growth, mortality, fluctuating asymmetry (mandibular pores, pectoral finrays, pelvic finrays, and gillrakers on the upper and lower arms of the first branchial arch) and directional asymmetry (branchiostegal rays) to assess chronic thermal stress (fluctuating temperatures as opposed to ambient temperatures) in developing eggs from two different coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) stocks and their reciprocal hybrids. Hybridization provided insight on the capacity of heterozygosity to reduce stress during development. Although egg losses were consistently higher in crosses exposed to fluctuating temperatures, egg mortality was predominantly a function of maternal stock of origin. Post-hatch losses were higher in crosses exposed to ambient temperatures than in crosses exposed to fluctuating temperatures during embryogenesis. Observed patterns of early growth revealed no heterosis, but instead reflected maternal effects, with some crosses slowing growth and yolk utilization when exposed to fluctuating temperatures. Analyses of fluctuating asymmetry also showed no effects from heterosis. While analyses of composite asymmetry scores and branchiostegal rays were inconclusive, analyses of individual characters showed significantly higher fluctuating asymmetry in pelvic finray counts and a marginal change in the numbers of fish asymmetric for this character in crosses exposed to chronic thermal stress. In contrast. the fluctuating asymmetry in lower gillraker counts was significantly higher in crosses exposed to ambient temperatures and there were significantly more fish asymmetric for this character. Data on mortalities and fluctuating asymmetry indicate pelvic finray development was thermally stressed, while the heightened fluctuating asymmetry in lower gillraker counts under ambient temperatures was due to a greater frequency of less fit fish that had not been culled by thermal stress. Changes in early growth patterns in response to developmental stress yielded no parallel responses in meristic characters. We conclude that chronic thermal stress produced both selectively lethal and sublethal effects that directly shaped fluctuating asymmetry and fitness profiles in these crosses. Implicit in this conclusion is that developmental instability analyses can detect more than just chronic sublethal stress, thus providing substantial credence for using instability studies as proactive bioassessment methodologies.

Genetic parameters and age–age correlations in a clonally replicated test of black spruce after 10 years

Height growth at 10 years from striking was assessed for clonally replicated full-sib black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P) families tested at three locations in central Nova Scotia. Variance components were interpreted according to an additive–dominance–epistasis genetic model and used to derive comparative estimates of gain from various selection and deployment strategies. Field performance at 5 and 10 years was compared with that of the original ortets and families growing in a 25-week greenhouse study, by means of phenotypic and genetic correlation, and rank-change analyses. Between age 5 and 10, the additive portion of the total genetic variance for height decreased from 66 to 38%, while the dominance portion increased from less than 3 to 13%, and the epistatic portion from 31 to almost 49%. As a consequence, narrow-sense heritability estimates were lower at age 10 and gain estimates also decreased, particularly for those strategies that capture gain primarily from additive effects. Although correlations between field performance and early growth measurements were generally poor, the strongest were found at the half-sib level; full-sib correlations were somewhat weaker and those between clone means and early ortet performance were small and not statistically significant. The strongest age–age correlations were those that involved family mean seedling weight in the greenhouse. Family rankings based on early oven-dry biomass production also showed the most consistent agreement with ranking after 5 and 10 years of field testing, although the analyses suggest that effective early selection is probably limited to culling the worst 25% of the families based on biomass. Genotype–environment interactions were statistically significant, although these were limited to only 2% of the phenotypic variance in height growth; furthermore, strong genetic correlations between environments suggested that these interactions have little impact on selection efficiency.

Effects of Pollen Donor Identity on Offspring Quality in Wild Radish, Raphanus sativus

If pollen donor performance during mating correlates with differences in offspring growth and fitness, processes that sort among potential mates may directly improve offspring fitness. Here seeds sired by three pollen donors on ten maternal plants were grown for eight weeks in the greenhouse. The performance of the pollen donors during pollination and fertilization was known from a previous experiment. There were significant effects of paternity on two measures of early growth: leaf number and plant height. Paternal effects on three measures more closely related to fitness; final plant weight, day of first flower production, and total flower number were also significant. Under the conditions of this experiment, final plant weight was probably the best predictor of fitness. The pollen donor that sired the largest seeds in the previous experiment sired offspring that were largest after 8 weeks of growth. Half of the plants were grown under low-water conditions. Paternal effects on growth were not masked by the environmental effects. In fact, some paternal effects became stronger under stress. This suggests that paternal effects could also be important in the field. Plants sired by donor A bolted very early when water was limited and would probably have an advantage in a season that was very short due to an early and severe drought. During fertilization and seed filling, seeds sired by this donor were more frequent on water-stressed maternal plants than on control maternal plants (Marshall, 1988). The data from this experiment indicate a connection between pollen donor performance during mating and offspring growth. These results suggest that the processes that sort among potential fathers during pollination, fertilization, and seed filling, may improve offspring quality.

EFFECTS OF POLLEN DONOR IDENTITY ON OFFSPRING QUALITY IN WILD RADISH, RAPHANUS SATIVUS

If pollen donor performance during mating correlates with differences in offspring growth and fitness, processes that sort among potential mates may directly improve offspring fitness. Here seeds sired by three pollen donors on ten maternal plants were grown for eight weeks in the greenhouse. The performance of the pollen donors during pollination and fertilization was known from a previous experiment. There were significant effects of paternity on two measures of early growth: leaf number and plant height. Paternal effects on three measures more closely related to fitness; final plant weight, day of first flower production, and total flower number were also significant. Under the conditions of this experiment, final plant weight was probably the best predictor of fitness. The pollen donor that sired the largest seeds in the previous experiment sired offspring that were largest after 8 weeks of growth. Half of the plants were grown under low‐water conditions. Paternal effects on growth were not masked by the environmental effects. In fact, some paternal effects became stronger under stress. This suggests that paternal effects could also be important in the field. Plants sired by donor A bolted very early when water was limited and would probably have an advantage in a season that was very short due to an early and severe drought. During fertilization and seed filling, seeds sired by this donor were more frequent on water‐stressed maternal plants than on control maternal plants (Marshall, 1988). The data from this experiment indicate a connection between pollen donor performance during mating and offspring growth. These results suggest that the processes that sort among potential fathers during pollination, fertilization, and seed filling, may improve offspring quality.

Poor growth prior to early childhood: decreased health and life-span in the adult.

Previous studies in animal populations have shown that stunted neural and thymolymphatic growth early in development may result in permanently impaired neural and immune function, decreased body growth, vertebral wedging, and decreased life-span. In the human adult, small vertebral neural canal (VNC) diameters may reflect early stunted neural and immune development and impaired function that leads to decreased health (inferred by greater vertebral wedging) and life-span in the adult. VNC, which complete their growth by early childhood (age 4), are markers of early development in adults. On the other hand, features following general body growth, such as height, weight (represented here by vertebral body height) continues to grow until young adulthood. They are less reliable, because they readily experience catch-up growth (even in chronically stressed populations) and, unlike VNC, may mask poor early growth. To test associations between early growth and adult health and life-span in humans, we measured 2,060 VNC, vertebral heights, vertebral wedging, nerve-root tunnel lengths, severity of vertebral osteophytosis, and ages at death in 90 adult (aged 15-55 years) prehistoric skeletons (950-1300 A.D.). Tibial lengths were also measured in a subsample (n = 30). Multivariate, bivariate, and nonparametric analyses showed that small VNC are significantly associated with greater vertebral wedging and decreased life-span (P less than 0.05-0.00001). VNC are independent of vertebral body heights and tibial lengths (general body growth). VNC, but not statural components, are useful in predicting adult health, presumably because they reflect neural and immune development and do not readily experience catch-up growth. Thus, longitudinal retrospective measures of early growth and adult health were systematically linked within individuals regardless of confounding factors operating over the 350-year time period. Since this research was completed, this model has repeatedly been independently confirmed in four living urban industrial populations. Longitudinal retrospective analysis was employed together with direct measures of VNC, neural and immune function. Together these results suggested that it may be essential to improve growth prior to early childhood in order to maximize adult health and life-span.