{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,12]],"date-time":"2026-03-12T16:16:00Z","timestamp":1773332160167,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,31]],"date-time":"2025-12-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767139200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003710","name":"Korea Health Industry Development Institute","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["HR22C1605"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["HR22C1605"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003710","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Children born small-for-gestational-age (SGA) have varying growth patterns and developmental risks. In this study, we aimed to examine the relationship between weight-for-age z-scores (WAZ) at 2 years and neurodevelopmental and obesity outcomes at 6 years in children with SGA. Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study using the National Health Insurance Service database of South Korea (N = 39,809). WAZ at 2 years was used to categorize children into four groups: G1 (WAZ &lt; \u22121.28 [10th percentile], n = 9416), G2 (\u22121.28 \u2264 WAZ &lt; 0 [50th percentile], n = 20,322), G3 (0 \u2264 WAZ &lt; 1.04 [85th percentile], n = 8280), and G4 (1.04 \u2264 WAZ, n = 1791). Neurodevelopment was assessed using the Korean Developmental Screening Test (K-DST). Overweight and obesity were defined using a body mass index-for-age z-score greater than the 85th and 95th percentiles, respectively, at 6 years of age. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and prevalence rates were estimated using Poisson and logistic regression models. Group-based comparisons were interpreted as exploratory analyses. Results: The prevalence of suboptimal neurodevelopment was highest in G1 (5.03%), followed by G4 (3.75%) at 6 years. A significantly increased risk of suboptimal K-DST scores was observed in G1 (aOR: 1.544; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.253\u20131.902), whereas a nonsignificant increase was found in G4 (aOR: 1.447; 95% CI: 0.938\u20132.234). At age 6, the prevalence of obesity was highest in G4 (19.60%), followed by G3 (7.11%), G2 (1.81%), and G1 (0.64%). The G4 group had the highest risk of overweight (aOR: 9.94) and obesity (aOR: 14.29) at 6 years. Conclusions: Weight status at age 2 in children with SGA was significantly associated with neurodevelopmental and obesity risks at age 6. These findings highlight the need for early weight monitoring and interventions to optimize long-term health in children with SGA.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children13010069","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,31]],"date-time":"2025-12-31T17:24:58Z","timestamp":1767201898000},"page":"69","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Impact of Early Weight Catch-Up on 6-Year Neurodevelopment and Overweight\/Obesity in Children Born Small-for-Gestational-Age"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5800-2090","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hyun Ah","family":"Woo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Seon Young","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Eun Hye","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hae Woon","family":"Jung","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Eunkyo","family":"Ha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital, Seoul 07441, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Boeun","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Bundang CHA Medical Center, CHA University School of Medicine, Seongnam 13488, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Multi-Omics Research Center, CHA Future Medicine Research Institute, Seongnam 13496, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9077-5779","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Man Yong","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Bundang CHA Medical Center, CHA University School of Medicine, Seongnam 13488, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4945-0753","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ju Hee","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1692","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(23)00354-9","article-title":"Small vulnerable newborns-big potential for impact","volume":"401","author":"Ashorn","year":"2023","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1707","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(23)00522-6","article-title":"Small babies, big risks: Global estimates of prevalence and mortality for vulnerable newborns to accelerate change and improve counting","volume":"401","author":"Lawn","year":"2023","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1720","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(23)00573-1","article-title":"Biological and pathological mechanisms leading to the birth of a small vulnerable newborn","volume":"401","author":"Hunter","year":"2023","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"66","DOI":"10.1186\/s13052-021-01019-2","article-title":"Postnatal growth of preterm infants during the first two years of life: Catch-up growth accompanied by risk of overweight","volume":"47","author":"Han","year":"2021","journal-title":"Ital. 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