Association between body composition at term equivalent age and Bayley scores at 2 years in preterm infants.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether in a historical cohort of preterm infants, body composition at term equivalent age (TEA) correlated with Bayley scores at 2 years of corrected age. STUDY DESIGN Ninety-five preterm babies were admitted to our neonatal intensive unit and underwent air-displacement plethysmography assessment at TEA. Of these, 74 completed Bayley tests at 2 years. We used multiple linear regression analysis to assess the association of body composition with Bayley scores. RESULTS Mean gestational age and birthweight of our population were respectively 29.8 (±2.2) weeks and 1150 (±330) grams. Higher fat-free mass (FFM) z-score was associated with higher language (adjusted r = 0.28, p = 0.03) and motor composite scores (adjusted r = 0.33, p = 0.03) in both univariate and multiple regression analysis including birth weight, sex, maternal university degree, mechanical ventilation, and bilingualism. CONCLUSIONS In our study FFM at term equivalent age was associated with higher Bayley composite motor and language scores at 2 years.