J Korean Med Sci.  2016 Jun;31(6):939-949. 10.3346/jkms.2016.31.6.939.

Percentile Distributions of Birth Weight according to Gestational Ages in Korea (2010-2012)

• Lee JK
• Jang HL
• Kang BH
• Lee KS
• Choi YS
• Shim KS
• Lim JW
• Bae CW
• Chung SH

• KMID: 2373704
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2016.31.6.939

Abstract

The Pediatric Growth Chart (2007) is used as a standard reference to evaluate weight and height percentiles of Korean children and adolescents. Although several previous studies provided a useful reference range of newborn birth weight (BW) by gestational age (GA), the BW reference analyzed by sex and plurality is not currently available. Therefore, we aimed to establish a national reference range of neonatal BW percentiles considering GA, sex, and plurality of newborns in Korea. The raw data of all newborns (470,171 in 2010, 471,265 in 2011, and 484,550 in 2012) were analyzed. Using the Korean Statistical Information Service data (2010-2012), smoothed percentile curves (3rd-97th) by GA were created using the lambda-mu-sigma method after exclusion and the data were distinguished by all live births, singleton births, and multiple births. In the entire cohort, male newborns were heavier than female newborns and singletons were heavier than twins. As GA increased, the difference in BW between singleton and multiples increased. Compared to the previous data published 10 years ago in Korea, the BW of newborns 22-23 gestational weeks old was increased, whereas that of others was smaller. Other countries' data were also compared and showed differences in BW of both singleton and multiple newborns. We expect this updated data to be utilized as a reference to improve clinical assessments of newborn growth.

Keyword

Birth Weight; Singleton; Multiple Birth; Newborn; Gestational Age

MeSH Terms

*Birth Weight
Female
*Gestational Age
Growth Charts
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Male
Reference Values
Republic of Korea

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Percentile curves [3rd, 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, 95th, and 97th] of birth weight for gestational age based on the raw data. %, percentile.

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  Fig. 2 Smoothed percentile curves of birth weight distribution by gestational age for singlet (A) male, (B) female, and (C) male + female populations. %ile, percentile.

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  Fig. 3 Smoothed percentile curves of birth weight distribution by gestational age for twin (A) male, (B) female, and (C) male + female populations. %ile, percentile.

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  Fig. 4 Comparison of singleton and multiple percentile curves of birth weight by gestational age for male and female infants. %ile, percentile.

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  Fig. 5 Comparison of (A) singleton, (B) twin birth weight percentile curves for male and female infants among different study of Korean populations. %ile, percentile.

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  Fig. 6 Comparison of singleton birth weight percentile curves of Brazil. %ile, percentile.

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  Fig. 7 Comparison of singleton birth weight percentile curves of Canada. %ile, percentile.

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  Fig. 8 Comparison of twin birth weight percentile curves of the United States (A) and Taiwan (B). %ile, percentile.

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