摘要
Background Internationally adopted children (IAC) can present growth impairment at arrival,which usually recovers over time.Moreover,a major prevalence of precocious puberty has been reported in this group.Methods All IAC referred to a tertiary level hospital in Italy from January 2016 to June 2017,underwent a standardized screening protocol and were prospectively enrolled in the study.The analyses of possible risk factors for growth impairment and precocious puberty were performed.Results Overall,422 children were included (males 59.5%),with median age of 6.5 years (IQR 9.4-3.9),29.9% adopted from Europe,26.8% from Asia,23.9% from Africa and 19.4% from Latin America.Children were in Italy from a median of 75 days (IQR 137.0-38.7).Stunting was observed in 12.9% of children,wasting in 4.3%,underweight in 12.9%.Precocious puberty was diagnosed in 2.2% of children.17.1% IAC had diagnosis of special needs.Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders represented the 41.7% of children with special needs and 48.1% of Russian children.Independent predictive factors for stunting were age < 5 years,a diagnosis of special need and having been living in Italy for < 60 days since the arrival.Conclusion Stunting among IAC is a frequent finding especially in children < 5 years and in those with special needs,independently from their geographical origin.
