Growth Velocity of Infants from Birth to 5 Years Born in Maku, Iran

BACKGROUND: Growth velocity standards are essential for proper evaluation of child growth. The goal of this study was to construct weight, height and head circumference growth velocity charts for infants. METHODS: This study includes 256 infants (124 boys and 132 girls) born in Maku, Northwest of Iran, and monitored from birth until they were 5 years. The weights and heights of the subjects were recorded at birth, one, two, four, six months and 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years of age, while the head circumferences were measured until they were 1.5 years old. In this study, the LMS method using LMS chart maker software, was utilized to obtain growth velocity centiles. RESULTS: Growth velocity charts for weight, height and head circumference (5th, 50th, 95th percentiles) were obtained. The velocity growth charts decreased rapidly from birth to 2 years and then remained relatively constant up to 5 years for both sexes. The growth velocity of boys was higher than girls through the first year of age but became equal at 12 months of age and no significant difference was seen up to 5 years. CONCLUSION: Growth velocity studies are really sparse in Iran. In this study, longitudinal data were used to obtain growth velocity centiles. Furthermore, the weight and height velocities of infants from Shiraz, southern Iran, and U.K were compared.