Birth size and gestational age in opposite-sex twins as compared to same-sex twins: An individual-based pooled analysis of 21 cohorts

Aline Jelenkovic; Reijo Sund; Yoshie Yokoyama; Yoon Mi Hur; Vilhelmina Ullemar; Catarina Almqvist; Patrik Ke Magnusson; Gonneke Willemsen; Meike Bartels; Catharina Em Van Beijsterveldt; Leonie H. Bogl; Kirsi H. Pietiläinen; Eero Vuoksimaa; Fuling Ji; Feng Ning; Zengchang Pang; Tracy L. Nelson; Keith E. Whitfield; Esther Rebato; Clare H. Llewellyn; Abigail Fisher; Gombojav Bayasgalan; Danshiitsoodol Narandalai; Morten Bjerregaard-Andersen; Henning Beck-Nielsen; Morten Sodemann; Adam D. Tarnoki; David L. Tarnoki; Syuichi Ooki; Maria A. Stazi; Corrado Fagnani; Sonia Brescianini; Lise Dubois; Michel Boivin; Mara Brendgen; Ginette Dionne; Frank Vitaro; Tessa L. Cutler; John L. Hopper; Robert F. Krueger; Matt McGue; Shandell Pahlen; Jeffrey M. Craig; Richard Saffery; Claire Ma Haworth; Robert Plomin; Ariel Knafo-Noam; David Mankuta; Lior Abramson; S. Alexandra Burt; Kelly L. Klump; Robert F. Vlietinck; Catherine A. Derom; Ruth Jf Loos; Dorret I. Boomsma; Thorkild I.A. Sørensen; Jaakko Kaprio; Karri Silventoinen

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-24634-2

Birth size and gestational age in opposite-sex twins as compared to same-sex twins: An individual-based pooled analysis of 21 cohorts

Aline Jelenkovic, Reijo Sund, Yoshie Yokoyama, Yoon Mi Hur, Vilhelmina Ullemar, Catarina Almqvist, Patrik Ke Magnusson, Gonneke Willemsen, Meike Bartels, Catharina Em Van Beijsterveldt, Leonie H. Bogl, Kirsi H. Pietiläinen, Eero Vuoksimaa, Fuling Ji, Feng Ning, Zengchang Pang, Tracy L. Nelson, Keith E. Whitfield, Esther Rebato, Clare H. LlewellynAbigail Fisher, Gombojav Bayasgalan, Danshiitsoodol Narandalai, Morten Bjerregaard-Andersen, Henning Beck-Nielsen, Morten Sodemann, Adam D. Tarnoki, David L. Tarnoki, Syuichi Ooki, Maria A. Stazi, Corrado Fagnani, Sonia Brescianini, Lise Dubois, Michel Boivin, Mara Brendgen, Ginette Dionne, Frank Vitaro, Tessa L. Cutler, John L. Hopper, Robert F. Krueger, Matt McGue, Shandell Pahlen, Jeffrey M. Craig, Richard Saffery, Claire Ma Haworth, Robert Plomin, Ariel Knafo-Noam, David Mankuta, Lior Abramson, S. Alexandra Burt, Kelly L. Klump, Robert F. Vlietinck, Catherine A. Derom, Ruth Jf Loos, Dorret I. Boomsma, Thorkild I.A. Sørensen, Jaakko Kaprio, Karri Silventoinen

Psychology (Twin Cities)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

21 Scopus citations

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.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	6300
Journal	Scientific reports
Volume	8
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-24634-2
State	Published - Dec 1 2018

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© 2018 The Author(s).

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Jelenkovic, A., Sund, R., Yokoyama, Y., Hur, Y. M., Ullemar, V., Almqvist, C., Magnusson, P. K., Willemsen, G., Bartels, M., Beijsterveldt, C. E. V., Bogl, L. H., Pietiläinen, K. H., Vuoksimaa, E., Ji, F., Ning, F., Pang, Z., Nelson, T. L., Whitfield, K. E., Rebato, E., ... Silventoinen, K. (2018). Birth size and gestational age in opposite-sex twins as compared to same-sex twins: An individual-based pooled analysis of 21 cohorts. Scientific reports, 8(1), Article 6300. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-24634-2

Jelenkovic, A, Sund, R, Yokoyama, Y, Hur, YM, Ullemar, V, Almqvist, C, Magnusson, PK, Willemsen, G, Bartels, M, Beijsterveldt, CEV, Bogl, LH, Pietiläinen, KH, Vuoksimaa, E, Ji, F, Ning, F, Pang, Z, Nelson, TL, Whitfield, KE, Rebato, E, Llewellyn, CH, Fisher, A, Bayasgalan, G, Narandalai, D, Bjerregaard-Andersen, M, Beck-Nielsen, H, Sodemann, M, Tarnoki, AD, Tarnoki, DL, Ooki, S, Stazi, MA, Fagnani, C, Brescianini, S, Dubois, L, Boivin, M, Brendgen, M, Dionne, G, Vitaro, F, Cutler, TL, Hopper, JL, Krueger, RF , McGue, M, Pahlen, S, Craig, JM, Saffery, R, Haworth, CM, Plomin, R, Knafo-Noam, A, Mankuta, D, Abramson, L, Burt, SA, Klump, KL, Vlietinck, RF, Derom, CA, Loos, RJ, Boomsma, DI, Sørensen, TIA, Kaprio, J & Silventoinen, K 2018, 'Birth size and gestational age in opposite-sex twins as compared to same-sex twins: An individual-based pooled analysis of 21 cohorts', Scientific reports, vol. 8, no. 1, 6300. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-24634-2

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title = "Birth size and gestational age in opposite-sex twins as compared to same-sex twins: An individual-based pooled analysis of 21 cohorts",

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.",

author = "Aline Jelenkovic and Reijo Sund and Yoshie Yokoyama and Hur, {Yoon Mi} and Vilhelmina Ullemar and Catarina Almqvist and Magnusson, {Patrik Ke} and Gonneke Willemsen and Meike Bartels and Beijsterveldt, {Catharina Em Van} and Bogl, {Leonie H.} and Pietil{\"a}inen, {Kirsi H.} and Eero Vuoksimaa and Fuling Ji and Feng Ning and Zengchang Pang and Nelson, {Tracy L.} and Whitfield, {Keith E.} and Esther Rebato and Llewellyn, {Clare H.} and Abigail Fisher and Gombojav Bayasgalan and Danshiitsoodol Narandalai and Morten Bjerregaard-Andersen and Henning Beck-Nielsen and Morten Sodemann and Tarnoki, {Adam D.} and Tarnoki, {David L.} and Syuichi Ooki and Stazi, {Maria A.} and Corrado Fagnani and Sonia Brescianini and Lise Dubois and Michel Boivin and Mara Brendgen and Ginette Dionne and Frank Vitaro and Cutler, {Tessa L.} and Hopper, {John L.} and Krueger, {Robert F.} and Matt McGue and Shandell Pahlen and Craig, {Jeffrey M.} and Richard Saffery and Haworth, {Claire Ma} and Robert Plomin and Ariel Knafo-Noam and David Mankuta and Lior Abramson and Burt, {S. Alexandra} and Klump, {Kelly L.} and Vlietinck, {Robert F.} and Derom, {Catherine A.} and Loos, {Ruth Jf} and Boomsma, {Dorret I.} and S{\o}rensen, {Thorkild I.A.} and Jaakko Kaprio and Karri Silventoinen",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 The Author(s).",

year = "2018",

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doi = "10.1038/s41598-018-24634-2",

language = "English (US)",

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T2 - An individual-based pooled analysis of 21 cohorts

AU - Jelenkovic, Aline

AU - Sund, Reijo

AU - Yokoyama, Yoshie

AU - Hur, Yoon Mi

AU - Ullemar, Vilhelmina

AU - Almqvist, Catarina

AU - Magnusson, Patrik Ke

AU - Willemsen, Gonneke

AU - Bartels, Meike

AU - Beijsterveldt, Catharina Em Van

AU - Bogl, Leonie H.

AU - Pietiläinen, Kirsi H.

AU - Vuoksimaa, Eero

AU - Ji, Fuling

AU - Ning, Feng

AU - Pang, Zengchang

AU - Nelson, Tracy L.

AU - Whitfield, Keith E.

AU - Rebato, Esther

AU - Llewellyn, Clare H.

AU - Fisher, Abigail

AU - Bayasgalan, Gombojav

AU - Narandalai, Danshiitsoodol

AU - Bjerregaard-Andersen, Morten

AU - Beck-Nielsen, Henning

AU - Sodemann, Morten

AU - Tarnoki, Adam D.

AU - Tarnoki, David L.

AU - Ooki, Syuichi

AU - Stazi, Maria A.

AU - Fagnani, Corrado

AU - Brescianini, Sonia

AU - Dubois, Lise

AU - Boivin, Michel

AU - Brendgen, Mara

AU - Dionne, Ginette

AU - Vitaro, Frank

AU - Cutler, Tessa L.

AU - Hopper, John L.

AU - Krueger, Robert F.

AU - McGue, Matt

AU - Pahlen, Shandell

AU - Craig, Jeffrey M.

AU - Saffery, Richard

AU - Haworth, Claire Ma

AU - Plomin, Robert

AU - Knafo-Noam, Ariel

AU - Mankuta, David

AU - Abramson, Lior

AU - Burt, S. Alexandra

AU - Klump, Kelly L.

AU - Vlietinck, Robert F.

AU - Derom, Catherine A.

AU - Loos, Ruth Jf

AU - Boomsma, Dorret I.

AU - Sørensen, Thorkild I.A.

AU - Kaprio, Jaakko

AU - Silventoinen, Karri

PY - 2018/12/1

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N2 - 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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ER -

Birth size and gestational age in opposite-sex twins as compared to same-sex twins: An individual-based pooled analysis of 21 cohorts

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