OBJECTIVE Intrauterine growth references are primarily useful indicators in the assessment of the general health status of newborn infants. Although Lubchenco's references are still used in many neonatal care units, we believe that there is a need for up-to-date intrauterine growth references specific for different populations. To develop gestational age-and gender-specific national references ...

AIM To investigate whether breastfeeding during infancy is a determinant of intelligence at 3.5 y. METHODS Five hundred and fifty European children enrolled at birth in the Auckland Birthweight Collaborative Study were assessed at 3.5 y of age. Approximately half were small for gestational age (SGA < or =10th percentile) at birth and half were appropriate for gestational age (AGA >10th percen...

We determined brain to liver weight ratio (BLWR) thresholds for fetal growth restriction (FGR) using autopsy information on 395 perinatal deaths comprising stillborn babies who died during labour and neonatal deaths. FGR was defined using two methods: (1) birth weight for gestational age (WGA) less than the 10th percentile; and (2) WGA less than the 10th percentile or discordant birth weight/le...

Objectives. Mechanisms influencing the course of physical and mental functioning after an atherosclerotic event are unclear. We examined effects of white matter lesion (WML) activity on changes in functioning in patients with symptomatic atherosclerotic disease. Methods. In 486 patients (58 ± 9 years) of the Second Manifestations of ARTerial disease-Magnetic Resonance (SMART-MR) study, volumetr...

50 years of published discussion of the definition of SGA [3–5] . The 10th percentile was chosen as a cutoff for SGA in the 1960s as a result of multiple studies indicating that infants born at or below the 10th percentile have increased mortality compared to gestational age-matched controls [4] . It is worth noting that these studies were performed on neonates born at high altitudes, who tend ...

The hypothesis that plasma prekallikrein (PK) is a risk factor for the development of vascular complications was assessed in a study using the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT)/Epidemiology and Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) cohort of subjects with type 1 diabetes. The circulating levels of plasma PK activity were measured in the plasma of 636 subjects with type 1...

BACKGROUND Although both fetal and long-term growth restriction are well documented in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, effects on pattern of growth trajectory have not been characterized. Furthermore, the degree to which growth trajectories are related to fetal alcohol-related neurocognitive deficits is unknown. METHODS Ninety-three heavy drinking pregnant women and 64 controls were recruit...

Objective. To examine the factors predicting changes in language skills between 2 and 3 years. Methods. By using longitudinal data concerning 1002 children from the EDEN study, linear regression was used to predict 3-year language performance from 2-year language performance and the risk factors associated with language delays. Logistic regressions were performed to examine two change trajector...

OBJECTIVE The goal was to determine whether there were significant differences between children of normative versus short stature in behavioral functioning and peer relationships, according to teacher and child reports. METHODS The study included 712 boys and girls in the sixth grade, from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Develop...

OBJECTIVE Sex hormones may be critical determinants of ischemic heart disease and death in women, but results from previous studies are conflicting. To clarify this, we tested the hypothesis that extreme plasma concentrations of endogenous estradiol and testosterone are associated with risk of ischemic heart disease and death in women. APPROACH AND RESULTS In a nested prospective cohort study...