摘要：Whether the traditional definition of small for gestational age (SGA) is an appropriate marker of risk for populations that have relatively lower birthweight is unclear. We determined proportions of White and Asian Indian SGA infants and those admitted to the special care nursery. Compared with White infants, Asian Indian infants were more likely to be SGA (14.5% versus 2.7%) and more likely to be admitted to the special care nursery (20.7% versus 3.7%), suggesting that traditional definitions of SGA may be applicable as a marker of risk. Small for gestational age (SGA) usually has been defined as birthweight less than the 10th percentile for gestational age since the studies of Lubchenco and Battaglia in the 1960s, 1 , 2 which characterized size for gestational age and the risk associated with smaller size at each gestational age. SGA infants have been characterized as having increased risk of mortality, hospital admission, fetal distress, hypothermia, and hypoglycemia. 2 – 4 The US population is becoming more diverse, with increasing numbers of individuals of Asian origin. 5 , 6 Different racial groups can have differing birthweight distributions, which may or may not be pathological. 7 – 9 Previous studies have shown that the Asian Indian population in the United States has a low-risk sociodemographic profile but a disproportionately higher number of low birthweight (LBW; < 2500 g) and SGA infants compared with White women. 10 – 12 In these studies, SGA was uniformly defined across racial groups. It is unclear whether some populations may have a disposition toward smaller babies without increased medical risk relative to absolute size. Asian Indian newborns may be classified as SGA because of ethnic, physiological factors more so than pathological factors; thus, we hypothesized that infants of Asian Indian origin classified as SGA would be less likely to have increased morbidity compared with SGA White infants and less likely to be admitted to a special care nursery setting. Previous studies have shown that despite the increased incidence of LBW and SGA in Asian Indian infants, no corresponding increased risk of neonatal mortality was reported compared with White infants. 10 , 13 To further investigate whether the standard definition of SGA was applicable to Asian Indian infants in regard to morbidity, we investigated admission rates to the special care nursery and diagnoses according to race and birthweight status at a northern California hospital.
