Anthropometry, glucose homeostasis, and lipid profile in prepubertal children born early, full, or late term

To examine differences in growth and metabolism in prepubertal children born early term, full term, and late term. We retrospectively studied 294 prepubertal children aged 7.3 years (range 3.0–12.1 years). Children were separated into those born early term (37 0/7–38 6/7 weeks of gestation; n = 68), full term (39 0/7–40 6/7 weeks; n = 179), and late term (41 0/7–41 6/7 weeks; n = 47). Clinical assessments included anthropometry, DXA-derived body composition, fasting lipids, and glucose homeostasis. Statistical models accounted for important confounding factors, such as gender, age, birth weight SDS, birth order, and parental variables. When birth weight was adjusted for sex and gestational age (birth weight SDS), late terms were heavier than both early (p = 0.034) and full (p = 0.020) terms. Early term children were shorter than both full (p = 0.010) and late (p = 0.049) term children, but differences in height disappeared following correction for parents' heights. There were no differences in glucose homeostasis, BMI SDS, adiposity, or fat distribution between groups. Lipid profiles were also similar. When important confounding factors were accounted for, there were no meaningful differences in anthropometry, glucose homeostasis, and lipid profile among children born early term, full term, or late term.