Inhibited growth and development as permanent features of low birth weight. A longitudinal study of eye size, height, head circumference, interpupillary distance and exophthalmometry, as measured at age of 10 and 18 years.

A 10-year assessment of ocular function eye size and other anthropometric parameters indicated a negative influence of low birth weight (LBW). The sample consisted of 302 children with BW less than 2000 g and 237 full-term controls. The former had smaller eyes and there were deficits regarding height, head circumference, interpupillary distance and exophthalmometry readings. Based on an 18-year follow-up study comprising 137 of the above 539, the various LBW deficits have proven to be permanent, and due not only to delayed development around the age of 10. The menarche appeared later in LBW girls (13 1/2 years of age) than in controls (13 years). Exophthalmometry readings have led to rejection of one of the presumed classical permanent stigmata of prematurity: ocular protrusion. The findings indicate that low birth weight is an impediment to the overall development of the individual. It also seems to interfere with some of the usual correlations between growth parameters. In addition, the results confirm the well-known feature: that males have a more marked growth spurt at puberty than females.