Birth Weight Percentiles and Infant and Child Growth Dynamics
An erratum to this article was published (JAMA Netw Open, 3 Aug 2026 ↗)
Authors' conclusion
In this cohort study of 38 535 singletons, birth weight decile was associated with early-life growth patterns.
Study context
- Population
- Singletons born 1991–2011 in 7 birth cohorts in Europe, Singapore and the US, followed with repeated growth measurements for 10 years; 5 European cohorts for discovery, Singapore and US cohorts for replication36,018 discovery, 2517 replication
- Participants
- 38,535 singletons
- Exposure
- Birth weight decile groups vs fifth to sixth decile groups
- Outcome
- Infant height (cm/month) and weight (g/month) growth velocity at 1, 6, 12, 24 months; BMI; age at infant BMI peak and childhood BMI rebound; overweight or obesity at 10 years
Methodological detailsmulticohort (7 birth cohorts), discovery and replication analyses, adjusted for sex and birth cohort
- Multicohort (7 birth cohorts)
- Discovery and replication analyses
- Adjusted for sex and birth cohort
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Infant peak BMI
Each group vs fifth to sixth decileMean difference (95% CI)
Second decile
−0.38(−0.43 to −0.33)
Ninth decile
0.33(0.29–0.38)
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | Mean difference (months) (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Age at peak BMISecond decilevs Fifth to sixth decile | 0.22 (0.12–0.33) | |
| Age at peak BMINinth decilevs Fifth to sixth decile | −0.21 (−0.30 to −0.11) | |
| −0.4−0.200.20.4Difference, months (linear scale) |
| Outcome | RR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overweight or obesity · 10 yearsSecond decilevs Fifth to sixth decile | 0.86 (0.76–0.97) | |
| Overweight or obesity · 10 yearsNinth decilevs Fifth to sixth decile | 1.25 (1.13–1.38) | |
| 0.512Relative risk (log scale) |
Age at rebound body mass index (BMI)
- Birth weight was not associated with age at rebound BMI
Replication, sex and decile vs conventional categories
- Replication analyses (2517 children) supported these findings
- Associations were typically linear and similar in boys and girls
- Deciles provided only modest estimation gains over conventional categories
Original publication
Birth Weight Percentiles and Infant and Child Growth Dynamics. JAMA Netw Open. Published 1 July 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →