McPherson CB, O'Donnell L, Moes E, Edgar H. No relationship found between dental fluctuating asymmetry, birthweight, and birth term in two modern North American samples.
Am J Hum Biol 2024:e24114. [PMID:
38842218 DOI:
10.1002/ajhb.24114]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
Deciduous dental crowns primarily develop during gestation and early infancy and embody early life stress exposures. Composite measures of dental fluctuating asymmetry (DFA) generated from the deciduous teeth may therefore indicate cumulative gestational stress in developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) studies. This study examines whether higher composite measures of deciduous DFA are associated with low birthweight and prematurity, two aspects of birth phenotype consistently associated with increased morbidity and mortality risks in adulthood.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
We evaluated associations between composite deciduous DFA, birthweight, and birth term in two contemporary North American samples: an autopsy sample from New Mexico (n = 94), and sample from a growth cohort study in Burlington, Ontario (n = 304). Dental metric data for each sample was collected from postmortem CT scans and dental casts, respectively. Composite DFA was estimated using buccolingual (BL) and mesiodistal (MD) crown diameters from paired deciduous teeth.
RESULTS
Contrary to expectations, the results of linear regression indicated no significant relationship between birthweight and DFA, or birth term and DFA, in either sample.
CONCLUSIONS
Deciduous DFA does not predict aspects of birth phenotype associated with gestational stress. Birthweight and birth term are plastic relative to the more developmentally stable deciduous dentition, which may only subtly embody early life stress. We suggest that deciduous DFA should be utilized with caution in DOHaD studies until its relationship with gestational stress is clarified.
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