1,721,004 research outputs found
Limitations of growth charts derived from longitudinal studies: the Euro-Growth Study
No full textLength and weight for age (1-12 months) charts are presented for the longitudinal Euro-Growth Study. "Weight-for-length", another widely used growth chart, presents a problem from a methodological point of view. Target length values (53-77 cm) are not observed in all infants, leading to truncated age distributions at most target lengths. It was demonstrated that the age at which the target length was reached (Fig. 8) had a significant influence on weight especially at a smaller length. This implies that the weight-for-length charts are biased. This phenomenon is due to the longitudinal measurement schedule at prechosen ages and not at prechosen lengths, which is impossible. To obtain the desired length-corrected weight standards, it is advocated to construct age-related body mass indices
Euro-Growth references for length, weight, and body circumferences. Euro-Growth Study Group
No full textBackground: Several concerns have been raised by World Health Organization (WHO) expert groups regarding the adequacy of currently existing growth references, including those currently supported by WHO. As part of a concerted action of the European Union, new references were developed that were based on a well-defined sample of the European population and were compared with existing references. Methods: During the longitudinal, observational multicenter study, anthropometric measurements using standardized methodology were performed in 2245 children between 1 and 36 months of age, and sex- and age-specific growth references for recumbent length, weight, mid-upper arm, thigh, and calf circumferences were developed. Results: The validity of the curve-fitting programs was demonstrated by comparing the selected sex-specific percentile distributions for all indices with the smoothed references. Comparison with the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)WHO references for length and weight for age indicated that the -2 z-score value of the WHO reference as cutoff value shows that a substantial part of the children with suspected failure to thrive should be classified as normal. The references also indicate that the mid-upper arm circumference is age and sex dependent and that a single cutoff value for children less than 5 years of age should no longer be used. Mid-parental height was the best single predictor of recumbent length until 36 months of age. Conclusions: The Euro-Growth references that were developed reflect growth of a well-defined, large cohort of healthy infants and can be used 30 for international comparison
Iodine supply in children from different european areas: the Euro-growth study. Committee for the Study of Iodine Supply in European Children
No full textBackground: In many areas of Europe iodine deficiency disorders still exist. Urinary iodine excretion is a valuable tool in characterizing the iodine supply of a population. However, there is a continuing discussion on the most appropriate parameter to measure urinary iodine excretion. Methods: In 247 children (ages 3-5 years) from six European centers, spot urine samples were analyzed for urinary iodine concentration and urinary iodine- creatinine ratio. Results: The median values of urinary iodine concentration from the six centers were very similar (90-106 μg/l) corresponding to a normal or marginal iodine supply according to the criteria of the World Health Organization. However, the median values of the urinary iodine- creatinine ratio from the six centers differed significantly (143-445 μg/g, P < 0.001). The different results of the two urinary parameters to assess urinary iodine supply were due to large significant differences in the urinary creatinine concentration reported by the various centers, which probably reflect marked differences in water intake. Conclusions: Iodine deficiency is still a significant health problem in many European countries. In comparable and homogeneous population subgroups (even from different countries), the urinary iodine-creatinine ratio appears to be a much better parameter for assessing iodine supply than urinary iodine concentration
The Euro-Growth Study: why, who, and how
No full textAssessment of growth is important in health management of infants and children. Evaluation of growth performance requires anthropometric measurements, with proper interpretation depending on the use of appropriate references. Europe-specific growth references have not been available. The purpose of the present study was to generate such references for infants and children from birth to 3 years of age. The study was further intended to assess the influence of nutrition and lifestyle factors on growth
Euro-Growth references on increments in length, weight, and head and arm circumferences during the first 3 years of life. Euro-Growth Study Group
No full textBackground: Reliable assessment of growth performance of infants and young children requires reference data increments. Available increment references are based on data fitted to mathematical models, a process that diminishes variation in increment values. Methods: Fully longitudinal data from the multicenter Euro-Growth Study (21 study sites; n = 2145 children) were used to develop sex-specific percentiles for increments in length, weight, and head and mid-upper arm circumferences for selected intervals during the first 36 months of life. Increments (per unit of time) were calculated for 2-, 3- and 6-month intervals from birth to 12 months of age and for 6-month intervals from 12 to 36 months of age. Weight increments were also calculated for 1-month intervals from birth to 6 months of age. The influence of sex, mid-parental height, and study site was determined using analysis of covariance. Comparison with other references was accomplished using percentile values. Results: Mean and standard deviation values as well as selected percentiles (P; P3, P5, P10, P25, P50, P75, P90, P95, and P97) of increments are presented. Length increments of boys were higher than those of girls until 5 months of age but tended to be lower thereafter. Weight increments of boys were higher until 9 months of age. Sex, mid-parental height, and study site explained only between 2% and 13% of the variances of increments. Mean increments were comparable but P10 and P90 substantially differed from published data. Conclusions: The new Euro-Growth references for increments in length, weight, and head and mid-upper arm circumferences provide tools for health workers that should be useful in screening for adequacy of growth during the first 3 years of life
Patterns of milk and food intake in infants from birth to age 36 months: the Euro-growth study
No full textBackground: Little detailed information is available on feeding practices of infants in Europe. The Euro-Growth Study is a longitudinal, observational, multicenter study of milk feeding, the introduction of complementary solid foods, and vitamin and mineral supplementation. Current practice is compared with international feeding recommendations. Method: Healthy term infants (n = 2245) were recruited at birth or during the first month of life. Dietary records were completed at the ages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months by semiquantitative dietary recall. Results: At the age of 1 month, 52% of the infants were exclusively breast fed and 26% were exclusively formula fed. At the age of 9 months, 18% of infants were fed only cow's milk. At the ages of 3, 4, and 5 months, 50%, 67%, and 95% of infants were fed solid foods, respectively. Conclusions: Feeding practices vary considerably throughout Europe. High rates of breast-feeding initiation are found in Umea, Sweden, and in Athens, Greece; and low rates in Dublin, Ireland, in Toulouse, France, and in Glasgow, United Kingdom. The use of cow's milk as the main milk drink before the age of 12 months is still common in certain European center
Euro-Growth references for breast-fed boys and girls: influence of breast-feeding and solids on growth until 36 months of age. Euro-Growth Study Group
No full textBackground: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breast-feeding during the first 4 to 6 months of life, but limited information is available regarding the growth performance of infants fed according to the recommendation. The present study used data from the Euro- Growth study to determine the growth of breast-fed European infants who did or did not receive solids from an early age, in comparison with growth of infants who were fed by other modes. Methods: There were 319 infants who were exclusively breastfed according to the WHO recommendations for at least 4 to 5 months, and 185 infants who were breast fed but received solids (but no formula) from an early age. There were 1509 infants who were fed in a variety of ways, which included breast-feeding during the early months of life in the majority (65%) of infants. Anthropometric data were available from birth to 36 months of age. Growth of the two groups of breastfed infants was assessed by comparing z-scores of length, weight, and body mass index with those of the group fed by other means. Furthermore, multiple regression analysis was used to assess the influence on increment in length and weight of the duration of breast-feeding and the age at which solids were introduced. Euro- Growth references for breast-fed boys and girls were developed and compared with the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)-WHO and Euro-Growth references. Results: The pattern of growth of children who were fed according to the WHO recommendations showed higher weight during the first 2 to 3 months of life and lower weight and length from 6 to 12 months. Between 12 and 36 months of age, differences between groups were small and clinically nonrelevant. Duration of breast-feeding was negatively correlated with increment in length and weight until 12 and 24 months but not until 36 months of age. The influence of duration of breast-feeding was much weaker than that of mid-parental height. The mean and standard deviation z-scores of the Euro- Growth references for weight of breast-fed infants deviate substantially from the NCHS-WHO references during the first 6 months of life in particular. The mean and standard deviation z-scores for length and weight of breast-fed children were close to the EuroGrowth references. Conclusion: The Euro-Growth references may be used to monitor length, weight, body mass index, and body circumferences of children who are fed according to WHO recommendations. The additional references, which were developed for breast-fed boys and girls, will be useful in view of the commitment of WHO to the collection of data for the development of a new international growth referenc
Euro-Growth references for body mass index and weight for length. Euro-Growth Study Group
No full textBackground: Fully longitudinal data from the multicenter Euro-Growth study (21 study sites; n = 2145 children) were used to develop sex-specific percentiles and z-scorns for body mass index (BMI) and weight for length (WfL) during the first 36 months of life. Methods: Smoothed percentile curves for BMI against age were constructed and checked against raw percentiles. Smoothed percentile curves for WfL were constructed according to established procedures and were checked against raw percentiles. The relation of BMI with length and of WfL with age was examined. The relation between BMI and WfL was tested using z-scores of each. The influence of gender, geographic location (study site), and genetic factors on BMI and WfL was examined. Finally, the new references for BMI and WfL were compared with other published references. Results: Selected percentiles (P; P3, P5, PI0, P25, P50, P75, P90, P95, and P97) for BMI showed a sharp increase from I to 6 months of age and a gradual decline between 12 and 36 months. Smoothed percentiles for WfL showed only small deviations from raw percentiles. BMI was found to be essentially independent of length, whereas WfL showed some degree of dependence on age. Values for BMI and WfL showed very good agreement, except at the extremes of the age range. A modest degree of influence of geographic location on BMI and WfL was found. Correlations with parental BMI and WfL were very weak, however. Comparison with the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) references showed the latter to have a narrower range of values. Conclusions: The new Euro-Growth references for BMI and WfL provide improved tools for health workers and researchers dealing with childhood obesit
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
- …
