How to cite item

Early physical growth and neurodevelopment in full-term small for gestational age infants: reference points from propensity score matching and restricted cubic splines

   
@article{TP155995,
	author = {Chengju Wang and Yiguo Zhou and Ting Yu and Lu Wang and Xing Xia and Yuping Zhang},
	title = {Early physical growth and neurodevelopment in full-term small for gestational age infants: reference points from propensity score matching and restricted cubic splines},
	journal = {Translational Pediatrics},
	volume = {15},
	number = {6},
	year = {2026},
	keywords = {},
	abstract = {Background: Full-term small for gestational age (SGA) infants are at risk for impaired neurodevelopment, but quantitative descriptions of growth-related developmental patterns and heterogeneity within this population remain limited. This study aimed to examine the associations of 1-year neurodevelopment with physical growth and birth-related factors in full-term SGA and appropriate for gestational age (AGA) infants, and to explore heterogeneity within the SGA group using age- and sex-adjusted relative length at 1 year. We also sought to assess whether SGA status remained associated with developmental quotient (DQ) scores after accounting for measured covariates and estimate model-derived weight-ratio reference points corresponding to the average DQ levels of AGA infants.Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, 448 SGA and 2,376 AGA children were included. Birth data, anthropometric measurements (weight, length, and head circumference) at 1 year, and Gesell Developmental Scale (GDS) scores were collected. Generalized linear models (GLMs) were used to examine factors associated with DQ in the SGA and AGA groups separately. Heterogeneity within the SGA group was further explored by stratifying infants according to age- and sex-adjusted relative length at 1 year. Two-step propensity score matching (PSM) with weighted GLMs was used to compare DQ scores between SGA and AGA infants after matching the measured covariates. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were applied to assess nonlinear associations between the 1-year weight ratio (SGA/AGA) and DQ.Results: In the SGA group, 1-year weight was positively associated with DQ across multiple domains, including fine motor, adaptive behavior, language, and personal-social behavior (all P0.05). Weight ratio showed nonlinear associations with DQ in all five domains (all P},
	issn = {2224-4344},	url = {https://tp.amegroups.org/article/view/155995}
}