ArticleBMC pediatrics2019
Low head circumference during early childhood and its predictors in a semi-urban settlement of Vellore, Southern India.
Article in BMC pediatrics, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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15 citing papers in PubMed, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- Determinants of Catch-up Growth in Early Childhood: A Longitudinal Study.Acta medica Philippina · 2026Article
- Social, Demographic and Health Risk Factors for Head Growth in Infants in Rural Guatemala: A Prospective Cohort Study.Maternal and child health journal · 2025Article
- Head Circumference Versus Length and Weight Deficits up to 2 Years of Age in Bangladesh.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Article
- CPAP caps are associated with restricted head growth and altered skull morphology in newborn infants.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Article
- A cross-sectional study evaluating the prevalence and predictors of malnutrition among children and adolescents visiting an urban academic hospital in Nepal.Public health nutrition · 2023Article
- Anthropometric proxies for child neurodevelopment in low-resource settings: length- or height-for-age, head circumference or both?Journal of developmental origins of health and disease · 2023Article
- Use of Head and Chest Circumference Ratio as an Index of Fetal Growth Retardation in Preterm Infants.Nutrients · 2022Article
- Head circumference trajectories during the first two years of life and cognitive development, emotional, and behavior problems in adolescence: a cohort study.European journal of pediatrics · 2022Article
- Secular Growth Trends in Early Childhood-Evidence from Two Low-Income Birth Cohorts Recruited over a Decade in Vellore, India.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2022Article
- Birth anthropometry predicts neonatal and infant mortality in rural Bangladesh: a focus on circumferential measurements.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2022Article
- Head circumference as an epigenetic risk factor for maternal nutrition.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
- Effect of dehydration during pregnancy on birth weight and length in West Jakarta.Journal of nutritional science · 2021Article
- The Association between Maternal Depression, Infant Characteristics and Need for Assistance in A Low-Income-Country.Journal of substance abuse and alcoholism · 2021Article
- Factors associated with head circumference and indices of cognitive development in early childhood.BMJ global health · 2020Article
- Determinants of Low Head Circumference at Birth of New Born in Dessie Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northeast Ethiopia: A Case-Control Study.Sage open pediatricsArticle
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11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundStunting in developing countries continues to be a major public health problem. Measuring head circumference (HC) during clinical anthropometric assessment can help predict stunting. The aim of this study was to assess burden and determine the predictors of low HC (<- 2 SD) at birth and during first 2 years of life in a semi- urban settlement of Vellore.
methodsThe study uses baseline data and serial HC measurements from the birth cohort of MAL-ED study, where 228 children from Vellore completed follow-up between March 2010 to February 2014. Analysis of baseline, maternal and paternal characteristics, micro-nutrient status and cognition with HC measurements was performed using STATA version 13.0 software.
resultsThe mean HC (±SD) at 1st, 12th and 24th month were 33.37 (1.29) cm, 42.76 (1.23) cm and 44.9 (1.22) cm respectively. A third of the infants (75/228) had HC less than - 2 SD at first month of life, and on follow-up, 50% of the cohort had HC ≤ -2 SD both at 12th and 24th month. Low HC measurements at all three time-points were observed for 21.6% (46/222) infants. Low HC was significantly associated with stunting in 37.3% (OR = 10.8), 57.3% (OR = 3.1) and 44.4% (OR = 2.6) children at 1st, 12th and 24th month respectively. Bivariate analysis of low HC (<- 2 SD) at 12th month showed a statistically significant association with lower socioeconomic status, low paternal and maternal HC and low maternal IQ. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed maternal (AOR = 0.759, 95% CI = 0.604 to 0.954) and paternal (AOR = 0.734, 95% CI = 0.581 to 0.930) HC to be significantly associated with HC attained by the infant at the end of 12 months.
conclusionsOne-third of the children in our cohort had low head circumference (HC) at birth, with one-fifth recording low HC at all time-points until 2 years of age. Low HC was significantly associated with stunting. Paternal and maternal HC predicted HC in children. HC measurement, often less used, can be a simple tool that can be additionally used by clinicians as well as parents/caregivers to monitor child growth.
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