Correlation between anthropometric indices at birth and developmental delay in children aged 4–60 months in Isfahan, Iran

BACKGROUND Advances in medical knowledge and treatment modalities have resulted in an increased survival rate for high-risk infants. This increased number of survivors enables study of the future development of these children. Other than infection and trauma, developmental and behavioral problems are the most common medical problems among such children. This study sought correlations between anthropometric indices at birth and developmental delay in children aged 4-60 months who visited health service centers affiliated with the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2010. METHODS In this descriptive, correlational study, 401 children aged 4-60 months and visiting health service centers were selected using a multistage method. Anthropometric indices at birth were collected from their health care records, and developmental status was measured using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, the validity (0.84) and reliability (0.94) of which were obtained from a previous study. RESULTS The mean age of the children in the normal group was 17.33 ± 13.18 months and that in the developmental delay group was 29.92 ± 19.19 months. Most children in the normal group were female (56%) and in the developmental delay group were male (55.2%). No correlation was found between height and head circumference at birth and developmental delay. However, the birth weight of children with developmental delay was four times lower than that of children with normal development (P = 0.004, odds ratio 4). CONCLUSION Birth weight and male gender were factors that strongly correlated with developmental delay in this study.