Quantifying the proportion of child growth failure attributable to low birth weight and short gestation

Abstract

Child growth failure is associated with poor health outcomes, including premature death, increased susceptibility to disease in childhood, and cognitive and motor loss in adulthood. Low birth weight and short gestation are two risk factors that are likely associated with the risk of child growth failure. However, some major comparative risk assessments, such as the risk assessment conducted by the Global Burden of Disease, do not account for the mediation between child growth failure, low birth weight, and short gestation in their estimations of attributable burden. This analysis aims to quantify the proportion of child growth failure attributable to low birth weight and short gestation as a first step towards disentangling the contributions of child growth failure and poor fetal growth towards disease burden. In this analysis, the proportion of child growth failure attributable to low birth weight and short gestation is also used to model how interventions aimed at increasing birth weight and gestational age could lead to averted cases of child growth failure.