Neonatal steroid exposure and body composition in preterm infants at discharge
Corticosteroids are regularly utilized in neonatal intensive care units, and the impact of these medications on body composition in preterm neonates is unclear. Our study found no significant difference in fat mass (FM), %FM, or fat-free mass (FFM) z-scores between very preterm (VPT) infants with and without steroid exposure. Our study highlights the feasibility of using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to assess body composition in the NICU.
Authors
- Leah Cerwinske
- Katherine Bell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4287-0667)
- Jieun David
- Kousiki Patra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5038-6613)
- Tricia J. Johnson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4768-0042)
- Megan Kraemer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7915-499X)
- Delaney Mulcahy
- Quyen M. Diep
- Aloka L. Patel
- Bradley M. Appelhans
Institutions
- Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
- Rush University Medical Center (US)
- Food and Nutrition Service (US)
- Rush University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Pediatric Research
- Published
- 2026-02-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-026-04796-w
- Primary Topic
- Neonatal Respiratory Health Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00