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Gestation and Birthweight in Dizygotic Twins: Girls Call the Tune

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2012

Ruth J. F. Loos ,
Catherine Derom ,
Roger Eeckels ,
Robert Derom  and
Robert Vlietinck
Ruth J. F. Loos
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Department for Human Genetics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium; Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Department of Sport and Movement Sciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium; MRC Epidemiology Unit, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Catherine Derom
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Department for Human Genetics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.
Roger Eeckels
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Paediatrics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.
Robert Derom
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Department for Human Genetics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium; Association for Scientific Research in Multiple Births, Destelbergen, Belgium.
Robert Vlietinck
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine, Department for Human Genetics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.

Abstract

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Unlike-sex twins provide a unique natural experiment to investigate the influence of sex on gestation. Our data showed that length of gestation of unlike-sex pairs is similar to that of female same-sex pairs, and significantly (0.4 wks, p = .02) longer than that of male same-sex pairs. Birthweight of female unlike-sex twins was similar to female same-sex twins, but male unlike-sex twins weighed 78 g more than male same-sex twins ( p = .001). These data show that in unlikesex pairs it is the girl that prolongs gestation for her brother, resulting in a higher birthweight than that of same-sex boys.

Type
Articles
Information
Twin Research and Human Genetics , Volume 10 , Supplement S1 , 01 December 2007 , pp. 6 - 7
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007