Peer-reviewed article
Differences in catch-up growth and its relationship to nutritional status between SGA and AGA twins and singletons in the first year after birth: a prospective cohort study.
Minghui Xiong, Ting Pan, Zhanzhan Zhang, Yuanfeng Zhong, Qian Chen et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study compared how well small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and normally-sized babies born as twins or singletons caught up in growth during their first year of life. Researchers tracked 340 children, measuring their weight, length and head circumference at birth, 3 months and 6 months, and assessed their nutritional intake through dietary questionnaires. Twin babies who were appropriately sized at birth grew most quickly, while SGA babies (especially twins) showed slower catch-up growth, with some children not reaching normal growth targets by age one. Surprisingly, giving babies extra calories did not improve their catch-up growth.
Key points
- Twin AGA (appropriately-sized) children had the highest catch-up growth rate compared to other groups
- Rapid catch-up growth in twin SGA babies occurred within the first 3 months after birth
- Weight catch-up growth rate was greater for twin SGA than singleton SGA at 1 year old
- 17.05% of singleton SGA and 22.22% of twin SGA did not reach catch-up growth targets by 1 year
- Higher energy support (more calories) did not improve catch-up growth outcomes
Limitations
The document does not specify the countries where the study was conducted or provide details on the demographic characteristics of participants, socioeconomic factors, or specific feeding practices that might influence results. The study design and statistical methods are not fully described in the abstract provided.
Abstract
To compare the difference between appropriate for gestational age (AGA) and small for gestational age (SGA) of singleton and twin in terms of catch-up growth (CUG) and nutritional status in the first year after birth through a prospective cohort study. A total of 340 singleton and twin children were recruited. Dietary questionnaires were completed at enrollment and at 3 and 6 months of age. Anthropometric data were presented as Z scores. The Z score of weight, length and/or head circumference > - 2SD were used as criteria for CUG. The CUG rate of the twin AGA was the highest. Rapid CUG of twin SGA occurred within 3 months, and the CUG rate of weight was greater for twin SGA than for singleton SGA at 1 year old. The length CUG rate for twin SGA was the lowest within 3 months, 17.05% of the singleton SGA and 22.22% of the twin SGA did not reach CUG. The CUG was independent of feeding mode, and higher energy support did not improve CUG outcome. Twin AGA children have a better CUG rate, whereas CUG might take longer in SGA, especially for twin SGA. Higher energy support does not necessarily improve CUG outcomes.Trial registration number The study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry with registration number ChiCTR2100053434 and was recorded in the medical research registry. Date of registration: Nov 21, 2021.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Higher energy support (increased caloric intake) to promote catch-up growth in SGA infants
- Population
- 340 singleton and twin children, including appropriately-sized (AGA) and small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants
Key finding
Higher energy support did not improve catch-up growth outcomes