Chinese Journal of Evidence -Based Pediatric ›› 2020, Vol. 15 ›› Issue (6): 401-405.

• Original Papers •     Next Articles

Growth reference standard of weight/head circumference ratio and length/head circumference ratio of Chinese newborns

ZONG Xinnan, LI Hui, ZHANG Yaqin, WU Huahong   

  1. Department of Growth and Development, The Coordinating Study Group of Nine Cities on the Physical Growth and Development of Children, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100020, China
  • Received:2020-12-08 Revised:2020-11-20 Online:2020-12-25 Published:2020-12-25
  • Contact: LI Hui

Abstract: Objective:To establish the growth standard curves of weight/head circumference ratio and length/head circumference ratio for Chinese newborns, in order to provide reference for the comprehensive assessment of physical growth at birth. Methods:Singleton live births with gestational age of 24-42 weeks were investigated in thirteen cities including Beijing, Harbin, Xi'an, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Kunming, Tianjin, Shenyang, Changsha and Shenzhen from June 2015 to November 2018, and those newborn babies who were not healthy or whose mothers had high health risk were excluded. Percentile reference values and growth curves of weight/head circumference ratio and length/head circumference ratio of newborn infants with gestational age of 24-42 weeks were established by the Generalized Additive Model for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS). Results:A total of 24,375 neonates with gestational age of 24-42 weeks were included in this study, with 13,197 males and 11,178 females. Weight/head circumference ratio presented a rapid increase by gestational age, and length/head circumference ratio showed an increase below 37 weeks of gestation but no obvious increase above 37 weeks. The 3rd, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th and 97th percentile reference values and growth curves of weight/head circumference ratio and length/head circumference ratio were obtained for male and female neonates with gestational age of 24-42 weeks. Weight/head circumference ratios of males in all gestational ages were slightly higher than those of females, with the differences of 0.21 to 0.37 kg/m at the 10th, 50th and 90th percentile curves. There was no substantial differences for length/head circumference ratio between males and females, with the difference of -0.01 to 0.01 in all gestational ages at the 10th, 50th and 90th percentile curves. The fitted values of weight/head circumference ratio were very close to the observed values at main empirical percentile curves, and the fitted values of length/head circumference ratio were consistent with the observed values above 32 weeks of gestation but slightly different from the observed values below 32 weeks of gestation. Conclusion:Based on contemporary, nationally representative, large sample data, this study established standardized reference values and growth curves of weight/head circumference ratio and length/head circumference ratio for Chinese newborn infants with 24-42 weeks of gestation, which might be useful for clinical practice and scientific research.