The association of low body mass index with neonatal morbidities in preterm infants

• Main Authors: Byoung Kook Lee, Jun Hyeok Lee, Jeongmin Shin, Young Hwa Jung, Chang Won Choi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2021-09-01
• Series: Scientific Reports
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98338-5

Abstract Little is known about the association between body proportionality at birth and neonatal outcomes in preterm infants. Body mass index (BMI) is one of the weigh-for-length ratios that represent body proportionality. The objective of this study was to examine whether BMI at birth affects neonatal outcomes in preterm infants. We assessed 3115 preterm (< 30 weeks), very low birth weight (< 1500 g) infants born between January 2013 and December 2016 and registered in the Korean Neonatal Network database. Using gender-specific BMI for gestational age curves, z-scores of BMI at birth were calculated. Low-, normal-, and high-BMI were defined as BMI z-scores of less than − 1, from − 1 to 1, and greater than 1, respectively. Neonatal morbidities and mortality in low- and high-BMI groups were compared to those in normal-BMI group. The low-BMI group had an increased risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, bronchopulmonary dysplasia or death, and necrotizing enterocolitis after adjusting for baseline characteristics and the birth weight z-score. High-BMI group had comparable neonatal outcomes to those of normal-BMI group. Low BMI at birth was associated with an increased risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and necrotizing enterocolitis, whereas High BMI at birth was not associated with adverse neonatal outcomes.