20 Chapter 1 Thesis outline Part I of this thesis focuses on the role of nutrition and IGF-I on growth, body composition and health outcomes in preterm infants in infancy. Chapter 2 elaborates on the role of dietary proteins and IGF-I on growth, body composition and neurodevelopment. Chapter 3 aims to explore how the developing IGF-I axis, in relation to nutrition, is associated with the occurrence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Chapter 4 investigates the influence of the route of administration and the type of nutrition on IGF-I levels and growth in preterm infants during hospitalisation. Part II of this thesis focuses on the determinants of body composition and methods to assess body composition in preterm infants. Chapter 5 describes the role of IGF-I and weight gain in determining body composition of preterm infants at term equivalent age. Chapter 6 compares body composition, generated by air displacement plethysmography and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Furthermore, it evaluates the potential predictive value of the sum of skinfolds for body composition measured in preterm infants at term equivalent age. In Chapter 7 a systematic review is reported, comparing different methods to assess body composition in preterm infants up to 6 months corrected age. Chapter 8 discusses the conclusions of this thesis and the implications for future research.
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