Bibian van der Voorn

134 CHAPTER 9 number of samples to determine the CAR, as well as a single day of collection, may have influenced our results 35 . CONCLUSION In children born preterm, poor intrauterine and postnatal growth were associated with lower cortisol during early infancy, irrespective of gestational age. However, at age 8 y these differences were no longer present or could not be confirmed due to attrition. It is unknown whether alterations in HPA axis activity in early infancy could attribute to increased health risks later in life.