Methods of displaying growth parameters over time
Downloadable PDFs for plotting growth for children with Trisomy 21, based on data collected in the Down Syndrome Growing Up Study (DSGS) published in 2015. This study collected data from a convenience sample of patients with Down syndrome.
CDC 2017 (Link)
Report on experience using a body-mass index chart that may be better suited for plotting children at the extremes of the growth spectrum. This growth chart uses a “modified z score,” proposed by the CDC, which expresses variations from the median in terms of a unit equal to one half the difference between 0 and +2 z scores (for measures above the mean) and one half the difference between 0 and -2 z scores (for measures below the mean) for any given age and gender.
If one uses modified z score as the y-axis against age, ordinary BMI changes fall along a curve that is much close to a straight line, so outliers should be easier to spot in this circumstance.
Authors illustrate the advantages of using an age-vs-BMI chart with modified z-score isobars over the standard CDC 2000 charts and over the modified charts showing the percentage of the 95th percentile of BMI.
[su_cite_pediatrics url_fragment = ‘140/6/e20172248’ author = ‘Chambers’ year = ‘2017’] | PubMed 29114063 | Author SearchGrowth charts for body mass index that use isobars based on the 95th percentile of BMI for age and gender.
[su_cite_pediatrics url_fragment = ‘130/6/1136’ author = ‘Gulati’ year = ‘2012’] | PubMed 23129082 | Author SearchComputational methods for detecting biologically implausible values in growth data from the Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Describes the calculation of z-scores and ‘modified z-scores’ in the CDC growth chart data published in 2000. A modified z value is defined, for values above the mean, as half of the difference between the value corresponding to a z-score of 2 and the mean. For values below the mean, the modified z-score is half of the difference between the value corresponding to a z-score of 2 and the mean. One expresses the modifies z-score in terms of the modified z-value. For example, for a 4-year old (48.5 months old) boy, the mean BMI is 15.62. The BMI value corresponding to a z-score of -2 is 13.74. So the modified z-value is (15.62 – 13.74)/2 = 0.94. A boy that age with a BMI of 12 would have a modified BMI z-score of (12 – 15.62)/0.94 = -3.85.
CDC 2000 (Link)Analysis of the use of new (2015) Down-syndrome BMI norms compared to standard CDC norms. Concludes that the general CDC norms are a better indicator of excess adiposity than the Down-syndrome-secific ones for DS children 10 years old and up.
[su_cite_pediatrics url_fragment = ‘138/4/e20160541’ author = ‘Hatch-Stein’ year = ‘2016’] | PubMed 27630073 | Author SearchBased on data from the Pediatrix Medical Group from close to 400,000 infants born in 248 US hospitals from 1998-2006. Comparison to curves used since the 1970s suggests that more modern curves are much more valid to judge growth of premature infants today.
[su_cite_pediatrics url_fragment = ‘125/2/e214’ author = ‘Olsen’ year = ‘2010’] | PubMed 20100760 | Author SearchBased on data from the Vermont Oxford Network from 183,243 racially diverse, singleton infants born in the US without congenital malformations. Tends to represent smaller infants compared to older charts; this is likely due to the increased survival of small infants over time. Provides norms for Asian, Black, and White infants.
[su_cite_pediatrics url_fragment = ‘138/6/e20161641’ author = ‘Boghossian’ year = ‘2016’] | PubMed 27940694 | Author SearchA discussion about the use of various newer premature-infant growth curves. A survival improves, curves tend to include smaller infants. There are also methodological differences in how growth points are compiled for these charts that generate small differences in percentiles.
[su_cite_pediatrics url_fragment = ‘138/6/e20163128’ author = ‘Clark’ year = ‘2016’] | PubMed 27940743 | Author Search
Results of the Down Syndrome Growing Up Study, which compiled 1520 measurements on 637 participants from 25 states (but mostly Pennsylvania) to create weight, height, head circumference, and body-mass index charts for children with Down syndrome through age 20 years. Comparisons to the old 1988 DS growth charts are illustrated. A supplement provides graphs and tables.
Describes the experiences at two medical centers of incorporating electronic growth charts into the medical records on infants with rare disorders, using PWS as an illustration.
Rosenbloom 2012 (Am J Med Genet A) | PubMed 22903930 | Author Search