Birth-weight differences at term are explained by placental dysfunction and not by maternal ethnicity

Autores de IIS La Fe

• 

  José Morales Roselló

  Autor

• Victoria Fornés Ferrer

  Autor

• Laura Gimenez Roca

  Autor

• Alfredo José Perales Marín

  Autor

Participantes ajenos a IIS La Fe

• Dias, T
• Khalil, A
• Ciammella, R
• Thilaganathan, B

Grupos

• Medicina Reproductiva

  

  Investigador Principal

  José Morales Roselló

Abstract

Objective To investigate the influence of ethnicity, fetal gender and placental dysfunction on birth weight (BW) in term fetuses of South Asian and Caucasian origin. Methods This was a retrospective study of 627 term pregnancies assessed at two public tertiary hospitals in Spain and Sri Lanka. All fetuses underwent biometry and Doppler examinations within 2 weeks of delivery. The influences of fetal gender and ethnicity, gestational age (GA) at delivery, cerebroplacental ratio (CPR) and maternal age, height, weight and parity on BW were evaluated by multivariable regression analysis. Results Fetuses born in Sri Lanka were smaller than those born in Spain (mean BW = 3026 +/- 449 g vs 3295 +/- 444 g; P < 0.001). Multivariable regression analysis demonstrated that GA at delivery, maternal weight, CPR, maternal height and fetal gender (estimates = 0.168, P < 0.001; 0.006, P < 0.001; 0.092, P = 0.003; 0.009, P = 0.002; 0.081, P = 0.01, respectively) were associated significantly with BW. Conversely, no significant association was noted for maternal ethnicity, age or parity (estimates = -0.010, P = 0.831; 0.005, P = 0.127; 0.035, P = 0.086, respectively). The findings were unchanged when the analysis was repeated using INTERGROWTH-21st fetal weight centiles instead of BW (log odds, -0.175, P = 0.170 and 0.321, P < 0.001, respectively for ethnicity and CPR). Conclusion Fetal BW variation at term is less dependent on ethnic origin and better explained by placental dysfunction. Copyright (C) 2018 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Keywords

• birth weight; cerebroplacental ratio; ethnicity; fetal Doppler; fetal growth; fetal nutrition