Estimation of reference growth curves for children's height and weight has traditionally relied on normal theory to construct families of quantile curves based on samples from the reference population. Age-specific parametric transformation has been used to significantly broaden the applicability of these normal theory methods. Non-parametric quantile regression methods offer a complementary st...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Children with Down syndrome (DS) have lower birth weights and grow more slowly than children without DS. Advances in and increased access to medical care have improved the health and well-being of individuals with DS; however, it is unknown whether their growth has also improved. Our objective was to develop new growth charts for children with DS and compare them to ol...

BACKGROUND Selection of appropriate reference charts for fetal biometry is mandatory to ensure an accurate diagnosis. Most hospitals and clinics in Israel use growth curves from the United States. Charts developed in different populations do not perform well in the Israeli population. OBJECTIVES To construct new reference charts for fetal biparietal diameter (BPD), head circumference (HC), ab...

First of all, we would like to thank all the discussants for their encouragement of and insightful comments on our work. We are especially appreciative of their unique perspectives brought to the topic of conditional growth charts. The discussants raised a number of interesting questions from statistical as well as clinical points of view, some of which are broader and deeper than what we will ...

OBJECTIVE Due to recent scientific progress in assisted reproductive techniques (ART), infertile couples can now become fertile. Thus, a number of infants in our country are the results of these costly interventions. This study has been undertaken to evaluate the physical growth process of different methods of ART infants by standard growth charts from birth until nine months of age. METHODS ...

BACKGROUND Growth charts based on data collected in different populations and time periods are key tools to assess children's linear growth. We analyzed the impact of geographic factors and the secular trend on height-for-age charts currently used in European populations, developed up-to-date European growth charts, and studied the effect of using different charts in a sample of growth retarded...