{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,12]],"date-time":"2026-03-12T17:05:46Z","timestamp":1773335146027,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,12]],"date-time":"2026-03-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773273600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Endocrinol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Infants born small for gestational age (SGA) are at risk for impaired growth and metabolic complications. However, the long-term effects of early feeding type on catch-up growth (CUG) in SGA infants remain controversial, and there have been no established anthropometric thresholds to predict later CUG.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This population-based study analyzed full-term SGA infants (birth weight &amp;lt;3rd percentile) from the Korean National Health Screening Program (2007-2014). Feeding type was classified as exclusively breastfeeding or exclusively formula-feeding based on consistent parent-reported data through the first year. Infants receiving mixed breast- and formula-feeding or special formulas were excluded to ensure a clear comparison between distinct feeding modalities. CUG was defined as height &amp;gt; 3rd percentile by 42\u201348 months. Propensity-score matching (1:1) was applied for sex, birth weight, socioeconomic status, and residence.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>After 1:1 propensity-score matching, a final cohort of 1,832 infants was analyzed. Formula-fed infants exhibited faster early growth, but intergroup differences diminished after 9\u201312 months, resulting in comparable CUG rates at four years of age. Feeding type was not significantly associated with CUG (adjusted odds ratio 1.38; 95% CI 0.76\u20132.51). In contrast, weight and height Z-scores at 4\u20136 months independently predicted later CUG (AUC 0.77 and 0.84, respectively).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Early weight- and height-for-age Z-scores at 4\u20136 months are the key determinant of CUG at 4 years of age in term SGA infants. Despite slower initial growth, breastfeeding supports equivalent long-term outcomes and may represent a physiologically favorable trajectory. Growth monitoring at 4\u20136 months may help identify infants at risk of persistent growth failure and provide a basis for considering timely nutritional support.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fendo.2026.1757905","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,12]],"date-time":"2026-03-12T05:27:51Z","timestamp":1773293271000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Early postnatal growth predictors of catch-up growth in term small-for-gestational-age infants: a nationwide propensity-score\u2013matched study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Jinjoo","family":"Choi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Hanyang University Hospital","place":["Seoul, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yun Jin","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pre-Medicine, College of Medicine, Hanyang University","place":["Seoul, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Myoung-Jin","family":"Yoo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Hanyang University Hospital","place":["Seoul, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jeesun","family":"Yoo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Hanyang University Guri Hospital","place":["Guri, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ja-Hye","family":"Ahn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Hanyang University Hospital","place":["Seoul, Republic of Korea"]},{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Hanyang University","place":["Seoul, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yunsoo","family":"Choe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Hanyang University Guri Hospital","place":["Guri, Republic of Korea"]},{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Hanyang University","place":["Seoul, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Seung","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Hanyang University Hospital","place":["Seoul, Republic of Korea"]},{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Hanyang University","place":["Seoul, Republic of Korea"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1210\/endrev\/bnad002","article-title":"International consensus guideline on small for gestational age: etiology and 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