Effect of disparities in birth weight on differences in postnatal growth of monozygotic and dizygotic twins

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S M Koziel1

  • 1Institute of Anthropology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław.

Annals of Human Biology
|April 9, 1998
PubMed

Insights

Intrapair differences in birth weight (IDBW) impact postnatal growth in identical twins (MZ), particularly MZ girls

Area of Science:

  • Human growth and development
  • Twin studies
  • Pediatric endocrinology

Background:

  • Intrapair differences in birth weight (IDBW) are a potential factor influencing postnatal growth trajectories.
  • Understanding these influences is crucial for identifying developmental variations in twins.
  • Previous research has not fully elucidated the impact of IDBW across different twin types and developmental stages.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the influence of intrapair differences in birth weight (IDBW) on postnatal growth patterns in both monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins.
  • To analyze growth differences from childhood through adolescence.
  • To examine the relationship between IDBW and specific growth parameters using advanced statistical models.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of growth data from the Wrocław Longitudinal Twins Study, including 49 MZ male, 40 DZ male, 40 MZ female, and 35 DZ female pairs.
  • Calculation of various indices to quantify intrapair differences in height and weight, such as standardized values (ASD, ABSD), Euclidean distances (EUCD), shape differences (SHC), and correlation coefficients (CORC).
  • Application of Spearman Rank Order Correlation to assess relationships between IDBW and growth indices, and Preece-Baines model 1 for detailed analysis of adolescent growth spurt parameters in a subset of twins.

Main Results:

  • Significant impairment of stature growth was observed in monozygotic (MZ) girls with dissimilar birth weights.
  • Birth weight was found to influence adult stature parameters specifically in MZ girls.
  • No significant relationship between IDBW and growth patterns was found in dizygotic (DZ) twins, suggesting strong genetic determination of growth in this group.

Conclusions:

  • Dissimilarity in birth weight significantly impacts postnatal growth, particularly stature, in monozygotic twin girls.
  • The genetic makeup of dizygotic twins plays a dominant role in determining their postnatal growth, overriding the influence of birth weight differences.
  • Potential explanations for observed patterns include male neonatal mortality, unidentified 'third factors,' or in utero growth programming.

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