Abstract
Recent studies have indicated that birth weight to placental weight (BW/PW) ratio is related to perinatal outcomes, but the effect of congenital abnormalities on BW/PW ratio remains unclear. We performed this study to elucidate correlations between BW/PW ratio and congenital abnormalities. Subjects were 735 singleton infants born at 34–41 weeks of gestation admitted to our center between 2010 and 2016. Of these, 109 infants (15%) showed major congenital anomalies. Major congenital anomalies and subgroups were diagnosed according to European Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies criteria. The primary outcome was the association between BW/PW ratio and major congenital anomaly, and secondary outcomes were the distribution pattern of BW/PW ratio with major anomalies and by major anomaly subgroups in each categorization (<10th percentile, 10–90th percentile, or >90th percentile) of BW/PW ratio. BW/PW ratio was not associated (P = 0.20) with presence (adjusted mean BWPW ratio = 5.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.87–5.18) or absence (adjusted mean BW/PW ratio = 4.91, 95%CI 4.85–4.97) of major anomalies, after adjusting for gestational age and sex. Proportions of infants with major anomalies according to BW/PW ratio categories were as follows: 12% in <10th percentile, 15% in 10–90th percentile, and 25% in >90th percentile of BW/PW ratio. Among major anomalies of the nervous system, congenital heart defects, and orofacial clefts, BW/PW ratio showed equally distributed trend across the three BW/PW ratio categories, but showed unequally distributed trend for anomalies of the digestive system, other anomalies/syndromes, or chromosomal abnormalities. BW/PW ratio was not associated with major congenital anomaly, and was distributed diffusely according to major anomaly subgroups. Major anomalies may tend to aggregate in the 90th percentile of the BW/PW ratio.
Highlights
We investigated whether associations existed between birth weight (BW)/placental weight (PW) ratio and major congenital anomalies as well as the major anomaly subgroups
A predominance of females, longer gestational period, higher BW, and an increased BW/PW ratio were all observed in infants born with major anomalies
Of the 109 infants diagnosed with a major anomaly, congenital heart defects were identified in 37 infants (34%), chromosomal abnormalities in 18 infants (17%), other anomalies/syndromes in 17 infants (16%), orofacial clefts in 12 infants (11%) and digestive system abnormalities in 10 infants (9.2%)
Summary
Eutherian (placental) mammals show a close relationship between PW and fetal growth, and the full-term birth weight (BW) of humans, pigs and goats is approximately five times the PW [4,5,6]. The full-term BW-to-PW (BW/PW) ratio has been shown to only differ by less than 5% between ethnicities or country of birth [4,7,9]. This suggests that the BW/PW ratio may offer a valuable international perinatal index. We hypothesized that fetal congenital anomaly may lead to a low BW/PW ratio because of fetal growth restriction, or to a high BW/PW ratio because of inappropriate fetal overgrowth. We investigated whether associations existed between BW/PW ratio and major congenital anomalies as well as the major anomaly subgroups
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
