Objective. To investigate the relationship between weight catch-up growth and insulin sensitivity in small for gestational age (SGA) infants. Methods. Forty-four singleton SGA subjects met the inclusion criteria and finished-3-month followup. Body weight, length, fasting glucose, and fasting insulin (FI) levels were measured at 3 days and 3 months. Insulin sensitivity was evaluated by FI and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA). Results. According to the change of weight Z-score, forty-four subjects were divided into two groups: noncatch-up growth (NCUG) and catch-up growth (CUG). By 3 months of age, the body weight, body length and BMI of NCUG group were significantly lower than those of CUG group. The FI and HOMA were significantly higher in NCUG group. The change of weight Z-score during 3 months was inversely related to the HOMA at 3 months. Conclusion. Our data exemplified that no weight catch-up growth during the first 3 months was associated with impaired insulin sensitivity in SGA infants. 1. Introduction The term “small for gestational age” (SGA) is sometimes used synonymously with low birth weight, but actually it refers to a low birth weight with respect to gestational age read on references curves and not a low birth weight per se. During the past decades, dozens of epidemiological studies associated with low birth weight infants confirmed programming hypotheses first proposed by Barker et al. in 1989 [1]. During critical windows of intrauterine development, some deleterious stimuli, such as undernutrition or alterations in placental function, may induce permanent changes in cell/tissue structure and/or function. It indicates that factors distinct from gene inheritance can be modulated by unique events during the life of an individual and lead to permanent changes. Subsequently, it has been suggested that such “programming” events are not restricted to fetal life but may occur during several critical windows during development [2], such as the early postnatal period. Catch-up growth is the acceleration in growth of 85%–90% SGA infants soon after birth [3]. Maximum catch-up growth usually occurs in the first 6 months of life but may continue up to 2 years [4]. In more than 80% of infants born SGA, catch-up growth occurs during the first 6 months of life. For this reason, growth monitoring during the early postnatal period provides useful information, and different growth patterns may be identified in infants as young as 3 months of age. Rapid weight gain, or “catch-up”, was associated with a lower risk for hospital admission and lower
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