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. 2024 Aug 12;14(1):18704.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-69085-0.

The reference curves of percentile for the length and head circumference of infants aged 0-1 year in Hainan Province, China

Yan Xuan #  1 , Mengfan Qiu #  2   3 , Guoying Huang  2   4   5 , Chuican Huang  1 , Xiaojing Hu  6   7   8 , Lichun Fan  9
Affiliations

The reference curves of percentile for the length and head circumference of infants aged 0-1 year in Hainan Province, China

Yan Xuan et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

We first established percentile reference curves for infant length and head circumference in Hainan Province based on gender and age in months and compared them with the 2022 national standards and World Health Organization (WHO) standards. This cross-sectional survey involved 2736 infants (1471 boys and 1265 girls) in 18 cities and counties in Hainan Province. Standardized instruments were used to measure head circumference and length. Reference values for Hainan infants' length and head circumference were determined using the LMS method. Curves were generated using the LMS Chart Maker software. According to the newly established reference curves, the length and head circumference of Hainan infants exhibited a consistent trend of steady growth. However, the average head circumference was below the 2022 national reference values and WHO standards. The mean length was lower than the new national reference values but roughly consistent with the WHO standards. Differences exist in infant length and head circumference in Hainan compared to national and global averages. To enhance infant length and head circumference growth, the health department should encourage exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months, ensure infants' sleep needs at night, and promote the regularity of vitamin D supplementation during the perinatal period.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Length-for-age and head circumference-for-age reference curves for Hainan infants. P3 3rd percentile, P10 10th percentile, P25 25th percentile, P50 50th percentile, P75 75th percentile, P90 90th percentile, P97 97th percentile. (a) Boys' length. (b) Girls' length. (c) Boys' head circumference. (d) Girls' head circumference.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of length-for-age and head circumference-for-age reference curves for Hainan infants with national standard curves. (a) Boys' length. (b) Girls' length. (c) Boys' head circumference. (d) Girls' head circumference.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of length-for-age and head circumference-for-age reference curves for Hainan infants with WHO standard curves. (a) Boys' length. (b) Girls' length. (c) Boys' head circumference. (d) Girls' head circumference.
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References

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