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Alemu R, Masters WA, Finaret AB. Sibling rivalry between twins in utero and childhood: Evidence from birthweight and survival of 95 919 twin pairs in 72 low- and middle-income countries. Am J Hum Biol 2023. [PMID: 36864771 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study explores the magnitude and timing of sex and gender disparities in child development by describing differences in health outcomes for male and female siblings, comparing twins to control for all aspects of life circumstances other than sex and gender. METHODS We construct a repeat cross-sectional dataset of 191 838 twins among 1.7 million births recorded in 214 nationally representative household surveys for 72 countries between 1990 and 2016. To test for biological or social mechanisms that might favor the health of male or female infants, we describe differences in birthweights, attained heights, weights, and survival to distinguish gestational health from care practices after each child is born. RESULTS We find that male fetuses grow at the expense of their co-twin, significantly reducing their sibling's birthweight and survival probabilities, but only if the other fetus is male. Female fetuses are born significantly heavier when they share the uterus with a male co-twin and have no significant difference in survival probability whether they happen to draw a male or a female co-twin. These findings demonstrate that sex-specific sibling rivalry and male frailty begin in utero, prior to gender bias after birth that typically favors male children. CONCLUSIONS Sex differences in child health may have competing effects with gender bias that occurs during childhood. Worse health outcomes for males with a male co-twin could be linked to hormone levels or male frailty, and could lead to underestimates of the effect sizes of later gender bias against girls. Gender bias favoring surviving male children may explain the lack of differences in height and weight observed for twins with either male or female co-twins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robel Alemu
- Anderson School of Management, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.,Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - William A Masters
- Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Amelia B Finaret
- Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,Department of Global Health, Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania, USA
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2
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Amais DSR, da Silva TER, Barros BA, de Andrade JGR, de Lemos-Marini SHV, de Mello MP, Marques-de-Faria AP, Mazzola TN, Guaragna MS, Fabbri-Scallet H, Vieira TAP, Viguetti-Campos NL, Morcillo AM, Hiort O, Maciel-Guerra AT, Guerra-Junior G. Sex dimorphism of weight and length at birth: evidence based on disorders of sex development. Ann Hum Biol 2022; 49:274-279. [PMID: 36218438 DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2022.2134452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Males have higher weight and length at birth than females. AIM To verify the influence of the Y chromosome and the action of intrauterine androgens on weight and length at birth of children with Disorders of Sex Development (DSD). SUBJECTS AND METHODS A cross-sectional and retrospective study. Patients with Turner syndrome (TS), complete (XX and XY), mixed (45,X/46,XY) and partial (XY) gonadal dysgenesis (GD), complete (CAIS) and partial (PAIS) androgen insensitivity syndromes and XX and XY congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) were included. Weight and length at birth were evaluated. RESULTS Weight and length at birth were lower in TS and mixed GD when compared to XY and XX DSD cases. In turn, patients with increased androgen action (117 cases) had higher weight and length at birth when compared to those with absent (108 cases) and decreased (68 cases) production/action. In birthweight, there was a negative influence of the 45,X/46,XY karyotype and a positive influence of increased androgen and gestational age. In birth length, there was a negative influence of the 45,X and 45,X/46,XY karyotypes and also a positive influence of increased androgen and gestational age. CONCLUSIONS The sex dimorphism of weight and length at birth could possibly be influenced by intrauterine androgenic action.
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Affiliation(s)
- D S R Amais
- Interdisciplinary Group for the Study of Sex Determination and Differentiation (GIEDDS), School of Medical Sciences (FCM), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil
| | - T E R da Silva
- Interdisciplinary Group for the Study of Sex Determination and Differentiation (GIEDDS), School of Medical Sciences (FCM), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil
| | - B A Barros
- Interdisciplinary Group for the Study of Sex Determination and Differentiation (GIEDDS), School of Medical Sciences (FCM), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil
| | - J G R de Andrade
- Interdisciplinary Group for the Study of Sex Determination and Differentiation (GIEDDS), School of Medical Sciences (FCM), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil
| | | | - M P de Mello
- Interdisciplinary Group for the Study of Sex Determination and Differentiation (GIEDDS), School of Medical Sciences (FCM), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil.,Human Molecular Genetics Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering Center (CBMEG), UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil
| | - A P Marques-de-Faria
- Interdisciplinary Group for the Study of Sex Determination and Differentiation (GIEDDS), School of Medical Sciences (FCM), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil
| | - T N Mazzola
- Interdisciplinary Group for the Study of Sex Determination and Differentiation (GIEDDS), School of Medical Sciences (FCM), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil.,Human Molecular Genetics Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering Center (CBMEG), UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil
| | - M S Guaragna
- Interdisciplinary Group for the Study of Sex Determination and Differentiation (GIEDDS), School of Medical Sciences (FCM), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil.,Human Molecular Genetics Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering Center (CBMEG), UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil
| | - H Fabbri-Scallet
- Interdisciplinary Group for the Study of Sex Determination and Differentiation (GIEDDS), School of Medical Sciences (FCM), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil.,Human Molecular Genetics Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering Center (CBMEG), UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil
| | - T A P Vieira
- Department of Medical Genetics and Genomic Medicine and Cytogenetics Laboratory, FCM, UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil
| | - N L Viguetti-Campos
- Department of Medical Genetics and Genomic Medicine and Cytogenetics Laboratory, FCM, UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil
| | - A M Morcillo
- Department of Pediatrics, FCM, UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil
| | - O Hiort
- Division of Experimental Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - A T Maciel-Guerra
- Interdisciplinary Group for the Study of Sex Determination and Differentiation (GIEDDS), School of Medical Sciences (FCM), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil
| | - G Guerra-Junior
- Interdisciplinary Group for the Study of Sex Determination and Differentiation (GIEDDS), School of Medical Sciences (FCM), State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil
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Hussein HK, Aubead NM, Kzar HH, Karim YS, Amin AH, Al-Gazally ME, Ahmed TI, Jawad MA, Hammid AT, Jalil AT, Mustafa YF, Saleh MM, Heydari H. Association of cord blood asprosin concentration with atherogenic lipid profile and anthropometric indices. Diabetol Metab Syndr 2022; 14:74. [PMID: 35585615 PMCID: PMC9118590 DOI: 10.1186/s13098-022-00844-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Elevated lipids in umbilical cord blood affect fetal programming, leading to a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease in later life. However, the causes of changes in the lipid profile of umbilical cord blood are not clear yet. This study aimed for the first time to determine the association of asprosin concentration with TAG, TC, HDL-C, LDL-C concentrations and TAG/HDL-C, TC/HDL-C, LDL-C/HDL-C and non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratio in umbilical cord blood as well as newborn anthropometric indices. This cross-sectional study was based on 450 mother- newborn pairs of a birth cohort study in Sabzevar, Iran. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate the association of lipid concentration and lipid ratios as well as birth weight (BW), birth length (BL), head circumference (HC) and chest circumference (CC) with asprosin in cord blood samples controlled for the relevant covariates. RESULT In fully adjusted models, each 1 ng/mL increase in asprosin was associated with 0.19 (95% CI 0.06, 0.31, P < 0.01), 0.19 (95% CI 0.10, 0.29, P < 0.01), 0.17 (95% CI 0.09, 0.25, P < 0.01), 0.17 (95% CI 0.09, 0.25, P < 0.01), 0.01 (95% CI 0.00, 0.013, P < 0.01), 0.01 (95% CI 0.01, 0.01, P < 0.01), 0.01 (95% CI 0.01, 0.01, P < 0.01) and 0.01 (95% CI 0.01, 0.01, P < 0.01) increase in TAG, TC, LDL-C, TAG/HDL-C, TC/HDL-C, LDL-C/HDL-C and non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratio respectively. Moreover, higher asprosin levels was positively associated with newborn BW, BL, HC and CC; however, these associations were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION Overall, our findings support the positive association between cord asprosin concentration and the development of atherogenic lipid profile in newborns. Further studies are needed to confirm the findings of this study in other populations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nassrin Malik Aubead
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hammurabi College of Medicine, University of Babylon, Babil, Iraq
| | - Hamzah H Kzar
- Veterinary Medicine College, Al-Qasim Green University, Al-Qasim, Iraq
| | | | - Ali H Amin
- Deanship of Scientific Research, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
- Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
| | | | | | | | - Ali Thaeer Hammid
- Computer Engineering Techniques, Faculty of Information Technology, Imam Ja'afar Al-Sadiq University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Abduladheem Turki Jalil
- Faculty of Biology and Ecology, Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno, 230023, Grodno, Belarus
- College of Technical Engineering, The Islamic University, Najaf, Iraq
| | - Yasser Fakri Mustafa
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Mosul, Mosul, 41001, Iraq
| | - Marwan Mahmood Saleh
- Department of Biophysics, College of Applied Sciences, University Of Anbar, Ramadi, Iraq
| | - Hafez Heydari
- Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Sabzevar, Iran.
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Bayraktar B, Vural T, Gölbaşı C, Gölbaşı H, Bayraktar MG. Effect of Co-twin Fetal Sex on Fetal Anthropometry and Birth Time in Twin Pregnancies. JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY CANADA 2021; 43:1153-1158. [PMID: 33621679 DOI: 10.1016/j.jogc.2021.02.113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study of twin deliveries aimed to examine the effect of fetal sex and fetal sex of the co-twin on fetal anthropometry and length of gestation. METHODS Pregnancies were grouped as male/male, male/female, and female/female. Birth weight, head circumference, body length and delivery time of newborns were compared between unlike-sex and like-sex twin pregnancies. RESULTS A total of 1028 pregnant women who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. Of these pregnancies, 32.6% (n = 335) were male/male, 33.4% (n = 343) were male/female, and 34.0% (n = 350) were female/female. The discordant (male/female) newborns had a higher total birth weight than concordant twins (P = 0.015). Compared with male newborns from male/female twin pregnancies, male newborns from male/male pregnancies were found to be 129 grams heavier, 0.7 cm longer, and had a 0.4 cm larger head circumference (P<0.001, P=0.023, and P = 0.039, respectively). Pregnancies with male/female fetuses had statistically significantly longer gestations than pregnancies with male/male and female/female fetuses (P = 0.003 and P = 0.004, respectively). The shortest mean gestation was observed in the male/male group. Male/male pregnancies had a 1.53 times higher risk of preterm delivery than male/female pregnancies and a 1.51 times higher risk than female/female pregnancies (OR 1.53; 95% CI 1.07-2.19 and OR 1.51; 95% CI 1.06-2.16, respectively). CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that, in twin pregnancies, birthweight, head circumference, and body length are affected by the sex of the co-twin. Male sex is associated with shorter gestation and male/male twin pregnancies are at higher risk for preterm labour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Burak Bayraktar
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Health Sciences Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
| | - Tayfun Vural
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Health Sciences Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey
| | - Ceren Gölbaşı
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Izmir Tınaztepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey
| | - Hakan Gölbaşı
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Health Sciences Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey
| | - Miyase Gizem Bayraktar
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Health Sciences Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey
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Azcorra H. The association of sex of co-twin and birth size in twins born in Yucatan, Mexico between 2008 and 2017. Ann Hum Biol 2020; 47:250-255. [PMID: 32321309 DOI: 10.1080/03014460.2020.1749301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Background: Birth measures of twins are potentially influenced by sex of co-twin.Aim: To analyse the association between sex of co-twin and birth weight, length and ponderal index in twin infants from Yucatan, Mexico.Subjects and methods: A total of 2057 twin pairs born during 2008-2017 were analysed. Female-female (F-F), male-male (M-M) and male-female (M-F) twin pair types were defined. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyse the association of (1) being female from M-F pairs and birth measures among overall female infants (M-F and F-F), and (2) being male from M-F pairs and birth measures among overall male infants (M-F and M-M). The length of gestation and mothers' age and level of education were used as covariates.Results: Models showed that being male from M-F pairs was associated with increases of 81 g in birth weight and 0.61 cm in length, compared to males from M-M pairs, and being female from opposite-sex pairs was associated with increases of 0.36 cm in length, compared to females from same-sex pairs.Conclusions: Males from M-F pairs show greater birth size than males from same-sex pairs, which supports the hypothesis that birth measures of twins are influenced by sex of the co-twin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hugo Azcorra
- Centro de Investigaciones Silvio Zavala, Universidad Modelo, Mérida, México
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Birth size and gestational age in opposite-sex twins as compared to same-sex twins: An individual-based pooled analysis of 21 cohorts. Sci Rep 2018; 8:6300. [PMID: 29674730 PMCID: PMC5908858 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-24634-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2017] [Accepted: 04/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
It is well established that boys are born heavier and longer than girls, but it remains unclear whether birth size in twins is affected by the sex of their co-twin. We conducted an individual-based pooled analysis of 21 twin cohorts in 15 countries derived from the COllaborative project of Development of Anthropometrical measures in Twins (CODATwins), including 67,850 dizygotic twin individuals. Linear regression analyses showed that boys having a co-twin sister were, on average, 31 g (95% CI 18 to 45) heavier and 0.16 cm (95% CI 0.045 to 0.274) longer than those with a co-twin brother. In girls, birth size was not associated (5 g birth weight; 95% CI −8 to −18 and −0.089 cm birth length; 95% CI −0.202 to 0.025) with the sex of the co-twin. Gestational age was slightly shorter in boy-boy pairs than in boy-girl and girl-girl pairs. When birth size was standardized by gestational age, the magnitude of the associations was attenuated in boys, particularly for birth weight. In conclusion, boys with a co-twin sister are heavier and longer at birth than those with a co-twin brother. However, these differences are modest and partly explained by a longer gestation in the presence of a co-twin sister.
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