Pattern of growth of very low birth weight preterm infants, assessed using the WHO Growth Standards, is associated with neurodevelopment

Several Canadian professional organizations recently recommended that the growth of preterm infants be monitored using the World Health Organization Growth Standards (WHO-GS) after hospital discharge. The WHO-GS are a prescriptive set of growth charts that describe how term infants should grow under ideal environmental conditions. Whether preterm infants following this pattern of growth have better outcomes than infants that do not has yet to be evaluated. Our aim was to determine whether the pattern of growth of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants during the first 2 years, assessed using the WHO-GS or the traditional Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reference growth charts (CDC-RGC), is associated with neurodevelopment. Pattern of weight, length, and head circumference gain of appropriate-for-gestation VLBW preterm infants (n = 289) from birth to 18-24 months corrected age was classified, using the WHO-GS and CDC-RGC, as sustained (change in Z-score <= 1 SD), decelerated (decline >1 SD), or accelerated (incline >1 SD). Development was assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID)-III at 18-24 months corrected age. Using the WHO-GS, children with a decelerated pattern of weight gain had lower cognitive (10 points), language (6 points), and motor (4 points) scores than infants with sustained weight gain (p < 0.05), even after adjustment for morbidities. No association was found using the CDC-RGC. In conclusion, a decelerated pattern of weight gain, determined with the WHO-GS, but not the CDC-GRC, is associated with poorer neurodevelopment scores on the BSID-III than a pattern of sustained growth.