Table 1.
Maternal and preterm infants’ characteristics.
| Characteristics | “Faster” Growth Rate | “Slower” Growth Rate | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maternal characteristics | 11 | 11 | |
| Age (years) | 29.00 ± 4.52 (25.00; 35.00) | 30.00 ± 4.12 (26.00; 33.00) | 0.908 |
| BMI before gestation (kg/m2) | 22.32 ± 5.26 (19.14; 28.91) | 24.00 ± 5.11 (20.83; 30.80) | 0.789 |
| Infants characteristics at birth | 11 (7 males and 4 females) | 15 (10 males and 5 females) | |
| Neonatal Morbidity (number of events) * | 0 | 0 | |
| Gestational age (weeks) | 31.00 ± 1.37 (30.0; 32.00) | 30.00 ± 1.68 (29.00; 32.00) | 0.288 |
| Length of hospital stay (days) | 51.50 ± 3.16 (37.25; 56.25) | 49.50 ± 4.21 (36.75; 54.75) | 0.849 |
| Birth weight (kg) | 1.200 ± 0.293 (1.020; 1.445) | 1.605 ± 0.211 (1.465; 1.705) | 0.005 |
| Birth weight Z-score (SD) | −1.592 ± 0.958 (−2.079; −0.571) | 0.564 ± 0.718 (−0.290; 0.842) | 0.000 |
| BMI at birth (kg/m2) | 7.694 ± 1.573 (7.139; 9.884) | 9.455 ± 0.857 (8.843; 9.900) | 0.161 |
| Discharge weight (kg) | 2.340 ± 0.320 (2.029; 2.520) | 2.565 ± 0.270 (2.355; 2.720) | 0.041 |
| Discharge weight Z-score (SD) | −1.878 ± 0.857 (−2.264; −1.127) | −1.142 ± 0.682 (−1.552; −0.953) | 0.146 |
| BMI at Discharge (kg/m2) | 11.98 ± 0.485 (11.66; 12.28) | 12.67 ± 0.955 (11.78; 13.36) | 0.047 |
| Difference between discharge and birth weight Z-score (SD) | −0.479 ± 0.189 (−0.668; −0.294) | −1.538 ± 0.417 (−1.953; −1.230) | <0.001 |
*: The development of comorbidities was clearly described in the same pilot study [20]. Values are medians and 25% and 75% percentiles. P values for comparison between “faster” and “slower” growth groups were derived using Mann-Whitney U test. Parameters in bold presented a significant p-value < 0.05.