3.2. Growth of Infants
Upon completion of the trial, a comprehensive analysis of the infants’ anthropometric data was performed, focusing on weight, length, and head circumference in relation to both gender and treatment groups. Trend lines were generated for each growth chart to illustrate the trajectory of data points at month 0 and 4. The coefficient “r” was computed to quantify the correlation between the growth data points and the 50th percentile on the WHO growth charts, providing a rigorous assessment of the observed associations. In the placebo group, weight-for-age percentiles for boys ranged from 50% to 85%, while in the The average initial weight for boys was approximately 4.7 kg. In the CP-9 group, a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.58) was observed between the weight data points of boys and the 50th percentile on the growth chart (Subsequently, we assessed the length-for-age percentiles of boys in the placebo and probiotic groups. The placebo group exhibited length-for-age percentiles ranging from 50% to 85%, while the probiotic groups showed percentiles around 50% (At the beginning of the study, the average length of boys was approximately 54.32 cm. However, the correlation analysis indicated a negligible correlation between the data points and the 50th percentile across all groups (placebo: r = −0.14, CP-9: r = 0.21, AP-32: r = 0.24) (In the context of head circumference-for-age percentiles for boys, the placebo and CP-9 groups had approximately 50% percentiles, while the AP-32 group ranged between 15% and 50% (The average initial head circumference for boys was approximately 37.43 cm, and there was a negligible correlation observed between the data points and the 50th percentile across all groups (placebo: r = −0.20, CP-9: r = 0.13, AP-32: r = 0.24) (Next, we further examined the weight, head circumference, and recumbent length of infants at month 4. The mean and mean changes from baseline of weight on month 1 and 2 in mITT population are summarized in No significant differences were observed in head circumference or recumbent length between the CP-9 and the placebo group (The recumbent length of the AP-32 group was slightly lower than that of the placebo group at month 4, but there was no difference between the two groups in head circumference. Moreover, there was no significant difference between the probiotic and placebo groups in the crying/fussing time and episodes at month 4 (