D'Agostin M, Di Sipio Morgia C, Vento G, Nobile S. Long-term implications of fetal growth restriction. World J Clin Cases 2023; 11(13): 2855-2863 [PMID: 37215406 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i13.2855]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Stefano Nobile, MD, MSc, PhD, Instructor, Staff Physician, Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, Rome 00168, Italy. stefano.nobile@policlinicogemelli.it
Research Domain of This Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Article-Type of This Article
Opinion Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. May 6, 2023; 11(13): 2855-2863 Published online May 6, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i13.2855
Long-term implications of fetal growth restriction
Martina D'Agostin, Chiara Di Sipio Morgia, Giovanni Vento, Stefano Nobile
Martina D'Agostin, Department of Pediatrics, University of Trieste, Trieste 34100, Italy
Chiara Di Sipio Morgia, Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome 00168, Italy
Giovanni Vento, Stefano Nobile, Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS - Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome 000168, Italy
Author contributions: Nobile S conceived the idea for the manuscript; Di Sipio Morgia C, D’Agostin M, and Nobile S reviewed the literature and drafted the manuscript; Di Sipio Morgia C and D’Agostin M contributed equally; Vento G supervised and edited the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Stefano Nobile, MD, MSc, PhD, Instructor, Staff Physician, Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Francesco Vito 1, Rome 00168, Italy. stefano.nobile@policlinicogemelli.it
Received: January 27, 2023 Peer-review started: January 27, 2023 First decision: February 17, 2023 Revised: March 8, 2023 Accepted: April 4, 2023 Article in press: April 4, 2023 Published online: May 6, 2023 Processing time: 87 Days and 12.1 Hours
Abstract
Fetal growth restriction (FGR), or intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), is a complication of pregnancy where the fetus does not achieve its genetic growth potential. FGR is characterized by a pathological retardation of intrauterine growth velocity in the curve of intrauterine growth. However, the FGR definition is still debated, and there is a lack of a uniform definition in the literature. True IUGR, compared to constitutional smallness, is a pathological condition in which the placenta fails to deliver an adequate supply of oxygen and nutrients to the developing fetus. Infants with IUGR, compared to appropriately grown gestational age infants, have a significantly higher risk of mortality and neonatal complications with long-term consequences. Several studies have demonstrated how suboptimal fetal growth leads to long-lasting physiological alterations for the developing fetus as well as for the newborn and adult in the future. The long-term effects of fetal growth retardation may be adaptations to poor oxygen and nutrient supply that are effective in the fetal period but deleterious in the long term through structural or functional alterations. Epidemiologic studies showed that FGR could be a contributing factor for adult chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, respiratory diseases and impaired lung function, and chronic kidney disease. In this review we discussed pathophysiologic mechanisms of FGR-related complications and potential preventive measures for FGR.
Core Tip: Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is a common complication of pregnancy where the fetus does not achieve its genetic growth potential. It is well known that FGR appears to be a contributing factor for adult chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Several studies demonstrated how suboptimal fetal growth leads to long-lasting physiological alterations for the developing fetus as well as for the newborn and adult in the future. Preventive measures and treatments should be assessed and adopted to prevent chronic diseases in FGR patients.
