Syndrome-specific growth charts for 22q11.2 deletion syndrome in Caucasian children.

Growth faltering occurs frequently in infancy in the 22q11 Deletion syndrome (22q11 DS). The subsequent course of growth in childhood and outcome for final adult height lacks consensus. We analyzed 5,149 growth data points from 812 Caucasian subjects with 22q11 DS, from neonates to 37 years old. Charts were constructed for height, weight, body mass index, and head circumference (OFC) using the LMS Chart Maker program. These charts were compared with the WHO birth to 4 years growth standard and US CDC 2000 growth reference between 5 and 20 years. Starting from the 50th centile at birth, by 6-9 months of age boys mean height and weight had fallen to the 9th centile, as did girls height but their weight fell less markedly, to the 25th centile. Feeding difficulties were non-contributory. In children under 2 years old with congenital heart disease (CHD) mean weight was -0.5 SD lighter than no CHD. Catch up growth occurred, more rapid in weight than height in boys. Up to 10 years old both sexes tracked between the 9th and 25th centiles. In adolescence, the trend was to overweight rather than obesity. At 19 years mean height was -0.72 SD for boys, -0.89 SD girls. OFC was significantly smaller than the WHO standard in infancy, between the 9th and 25th centile, rising to the 25th centile by 5 years old. Thereafter the mean was close to the 9th centile of the OFC UK growth reference, more prolonged and marked than in previous studies.