Body composition in VLBW infants

In our study we will enroll 60 preterm infants born either <32 weeks gestational age at birth or <1500 grams. We will collect nutritional and other exposure data. We will estimate their fat mass and fat-free mass by using ADP (Air Displacement Plethysmography) near time of NICU discharge. ADP is one of the more accurate and reliable methods for body composition assessment. PEA POD is the infant version of ADP that accommodates infants and has been widely utilized to assess the body composition in preterm infants. To measure neurodevelopmental outcomes, we will use infant’s standard of care neurodevelopmental assessment during their six and twelve months NICU follow up visits, where the HINE (Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination) is performed by a clinical psychologist. HINE is a scorable standardized neurologic examination that can be used to help identify infants between 2 and 24 months of age who are at high risk for all types of cerebral palsy. For our statistical analysis, we will employ mediation analysis to estimate the degree to which fat-free mass mediates the association between nutritional exposures and neurodevelopmental outcomes.