[Influence of neonatal anthropometry on the comorbidities of the obese patient].

Introduction: Small for gestational age (SGA) newborns show an increased risk of several diseases such as short stature, childhood obesity, and metabolic comorbidities.

Patients And Methods: The study included 883 obese patients (47% females/53% males; mean age: 10.33±3.32 years, BMI:+3.93±1.42 SD), with prospective follow-up (5 years) of growth, recording adult height when achieved (n=104). Comparisons at diagnosis, according to their neonatal anthropometry; adequate for gestational age (AGA; n=810) vs. SGA (n=73), were performed for the following features: age at their first visit, standardised height for target height (Z-score), bone age, adult height prediction, BMI (Z-score), glycaemia, insulinaemia, HOMA, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, 25-OH-vitamin D, area under the curve (AUC) for glucose and insulin in the OGTT, LDL/HDL and triglyceride/HDL ratio, insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) and IGF-binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) serum levels.

Results: Despite similar BMI-SDS, ethnic, and pubertal distribution in both groups, patients with SGA showed more severe changes in lipid profile (triglyceride and triglyceride/HDL ratio, both P<.05) and carbohydrate metabolism (higher glycaemia, glucose and insulin AUCs, HOMA, HbA1c and lower whole-body insulin sensitivity index (WBISI), all P<.05) and lower 25-OH vitamin D levels (P<.05). They also showed a poorer adult height prediction (adjusted for target height) (P<.01), despite a similar degree of advance in skeletal maturation and similar IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels than AGA patients.

Conclusions: The background of SGA neonatal anthropometry is associated with a higher prevalence and severity of metabolic comorbidities and to a poorer adult height prediction in obese children and adolescents.