Skinfold Thickness as an Indicator of Neonatal Hypoglycaemia in Infants with Birthweights over 2500g

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Abstract
Some full-term infants with birthweights over 2500 g suffer neonatal hypoglycemia. These infants often appear to be poorly nourished, due to decreased amounts of subcutaneous fat. Normal term infants (100) with birthweights over 2500 g who were nursed, apparently asymptomatically, beside their mothers were chosen at random for study. As an objective indicator of malnourishment, standard deviation scores of skinfold thickness as a function of birthweight were derived from standards for each infant. Those infants with low skinfold standard deviation scores had significantly lower plasma glucose levels at 4 h of age, but the correlation between plasma glucose and skinfold standard deviation scores, although significant, was too low for use as a screening method. The importance of finding an objective measurement for predicting neonatal hypoglycemia in term neonates weighing over 2500 g at birth is discussed.