Relationship Between Blood Lipid Level and Birth Weight in Preterm Infants

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between blood lipid level and birth weight in preterm infants and to provide guidelines for nutritional support for pretem infants. METHODS: The blood lipid level and birth weight were measured in 50 preterm infants and 30 full term infants. RESULTS: The levels of total cholesterol (T CHO), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL), apolipoprotein A 1 (APO A 1) and apolipoprotein B (Apo B) in the preterm infants were significantly lower than those in the full term infants (P< 0.05 ); the levels of T CHO, TG, LDH, ApoA 1 and ApoB in the low birth weight infants were higher than those in the very low birth weight infants (P< 0.05 ). The levels of T HCO and TG were positively correlated to birth weight in the preterm infants (r= 0.463 , P< 0.01 ; r= 0.284 , P< 0.05 ; respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The blood lipid level may be a marker of the nutritional state in preterm infants. There is a positive correlation between the blood lipid level and birth weight in preterm infants.