Study on possible increase in twinning rate at a small village in south Brazil

A high frequency of twin births has been observed in Linha São Pedro, a small settlement which belongs to the city of Cãndido Godói, located 524 km Northwest from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in an ethnically homogeneous population of German descent restricted to a small geographic region. From 1990 to 1994, the proportion of twin births in Linha São Pedro was 10%, significantly higher than the 1.8% rate for the state of Rio Grande do Sul as a whole. Genealogical analysis showed a high recurrence of multiple births within families, as well as a high level of inbreeding in the community. Zygosity data indicated that 9 of the 17 pairs of twins studied (53%) were dizygotic. No external environmental factors were detected that could be influencing the appearance of this characteristic. This preliminary investigation confirmed the presumed existence of a high twinning rate in the community. The high familial recurrence and the high inbreeding rate suggests the presence of genetic twinning factors. Complementary studies of twins that have yet to be evaluated and the search for additional risk factors, as well as linkage studies, should contribute to a further understanding of the biological factors related to twin births in the human species.