Associations of Birth Weight for Gestational Age with Child Health and Neurodevelopment among Term Infants: A Nationwide Japanese Population-Based Study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of specific Z-score categories of birth weight for gestational age with child health and neurodevelopment using a large nationwide survey in Japan, focusing on term infants.

STUDY DESIGN: We included 36 321 children born in 2010. Hospitalization up to 66 months of age was used as an indicator of health status, and responses to questions about age-appropriate behaviors at 30 and 66 months of age were used to indicate neurobehavioral development. We conducted binomial log-linear regression analyses, controlling for child and parental variables. A restricted cubic spline function was used to model the relationship.

RESULTS: Compared with children with birth weight appropriate for gestational age (-1.28 to 1.28 SDs of expected birthweight for gestational age), children who were small for gestational age (SGA) (<-1.28 SD) had higher risks of hospitalization and unfavorable neurobehavioral development, and the risks increased as SGA status became more severe. Compared with the appropriate for gestational age group, the adjusted risk ratios for hospitalization for all causes were 2.5 (95% CI, 1.7-3.6), 1.3 (95% CI, 1.1-1.6), and 1.1 (95% CI, 1.0-1.2) for children who were severely, moderately, and mildly SGA and 1.0 (95% CI, 0.9-1.1), 1.1 (95% CI, 0.9-1.2), and 1.4 (95% CI, 0.9-2.1) for children who were mildly, moderately, and severely large for gestational age, respectively. Severely large for gestational age children also had higher risks of unfavorable neurobehavioral development. These results were supported by spline analyses.

CONCLUSIONS: Among term infants, the risks of unfavorable child health and neurodevelopment increased with the severity of SGA.