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Genetic score associations with birthweight in preterm-born infants compared with term-born infants

Robin N Beaumont1, Sarah J Kotecha2, Shannon J Simpson3,4

  • 1Department of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.

Medrxiv : the Preprint Server for Health Sciences
|February 20, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Genetic factors influence birth weight in both preterm and term infants, but their impact is less pronounced in preterms, especially at earlier gestations. Environmental and placental factors may play a larger role in preterm birth weight.

Area of Science:

  • Genetics
  • Neonatal Medicine
  • Perinatal Care

Background:

  • Lower birth weight in preterm infants is linked to increased neonatal complications.
  • Understanding factors affecting preterm birth weight is crucial for improving antenatal and perinatal care.
  • Genetic contributions to birth weight are well-established in term infants but less understood in preterm infants.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the association of genetic scores for birth weight (BW-GS) with actual birth weight in preterm infants versus term infants.
  • To investigate the genetic influence on birth weight across different gestational durations in preterm infants.

Main Methods:

  • Linear regression analysis was used to test the association between BW-GS and birth weight.
  • Data included 1,416 preterm and 15,253 term singleton infants across four datasets.
  • Analyses were adjusted for ancestry principal components and meta-analyzed.

Main Results:

  • In term infants, a one standard deviation (SD) increase in BW-GS was associated with a 1.20 SD increase in birth weight.
  • In preterm infants, a one SD increase in BW-GS was associated with a 0.76 SD increase in birth weight, indicating a smaller effect size.
  • The association between BW-GS and birth weight in preterm infants strengthened with increasing gestational duration.

Conclusions:

  • Genetic scores derived from term-born infants' variants also influence birth weight in preterm infants.
  • The genetic influence on birth weight is less pronounced in preterm infants compared to term infants, particularly at earlier gestations.
  • Other factors, potentially environmental, placental, or different genetic influences, may be more significant in determining birth weight for preterm infants.
Abstract

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