Somatic Growth and the Risks of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia and Pulmonary Hypertension: Connecting Epidemiology and Physiology

In the premature infant, poor growth in utero (fetal growth restriction) and in the first weeks of life (postnatal growth restriction) are associated with increased risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia and pulmonary hypertension. In this review, we summarize the epidemiologic data supporting these associations, present a novel rodent model of postnatal growth restriction and review five promising mechanisms by which poor nutrition may affect the developing lung. These observations support the hypothesis that nutritional and/or pharmacologic interventions early in life may be able to decrease risk of the pulmonary complications of extreme prematurity.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author