Skip to main page content
Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2005 Mar;105(3):593-7.
doi: 10.1097/01.AOG.0000153491.09525.dd.

Relationship of maternal body mass index and height to twinning

Uma M Reddy  1 , Amy M Branum, Mark A Klebanoff
Affiliations

Relationship of maternal body mass index and height to twinning

Uma M Reddy et al. Obstet Gynecol. 2005 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: Increasing use of fertility drugs is considered the primary cause for the recent increase in dizygotic twinning in developed countries. However, dizygotic twinning has also been related to obesity in foreign populations. We sought to confirm this relationship in U.S. pregnancies, which predated widespread use of fertility drugs.

Methods: We analyzed 51,783 pregnancies (561 twin) in the Collaborative Perinatal Project, which took place at 12 hospitals in the United States from 1959 to 1966. The occurrence of twinning was compared according to maternal self-reported prepregnant body mass index (BMI) of less than 20, 20-24.99, 25-29.99, and 30 kg/m(2) or greater, before and after adjustment for confounding factors.

Results: There was a statistically significant trend for increased risk of total twinning with increasing BMI (P < .001). The odds of monozygous twinning were not significantly related to BMI, but the odds of dizygous twinning were significantly related to increased BMI. After adjusting for maternal race, age, parity, and height, the odds of dizygous twinning were still significantly elevated among women with a BMI of 30 or more, and the trend for increasing risk of dizygous twinning with increasing BMI was significant (P = .001). The trend for increased twinning with increasing height was also significant. Women in the tallest quartile of height had a significantly increased odds ratio for dizygous twin pregnancies, although not of the same magnitude as women with BMI over 30.

Conclusion: We confirmed the association of maternal weight and height with dizygotic twinning in a U.S. population among which fertility drugs were not a factor.

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

  • Double Trouble: The Burden of Child-rearing and Working on Maternal Mortality.
    Bucher-Koenen T, Farbmacher H, Guber R, Vikström J. Bucher-Koenen T, et al. Demography. 2020 Apr;57(2):559-576. doi: 10.1007/s13524-020-00868-6. Demography. 2020. PMID: 32270444 Free PMC article.
  • Twinning and major birth defects, National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997-2007.
    Dawson AL, Tinker SC, Jamieson DJ, Hobbs CA, Berry RJ, Rasmussen SA, Anderka M, Keppler-Noreuil KM, Lin AE, Reefhuis J; National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Dawson AL, et al. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2016 Nov;70(11):1114-1121. doi: 10.1136/jech-2015-206302. Epub 2016 Jun 20. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2016. PMID: 27325867 Free PMC article.
  • Maternal Obesity and its Short- and Long-Term Maternal and Infantile Effects.
    Korkmaz L, Baştuğ O, Kurtoğlu S. Korkmaz L, et al. J Clin Res Pediatr Endocrinol. 2016 Jun 5;8(2):114-24. doi: 10.4274/jcrpe.2127. Epub 2015 Dec 18. J Clin Res Pediatr Endocrinol. 2016. PMID: 26758575 Free PMC article. Review.
  • Zygosity Differences in Height and Body Mass Index of Twins From Infancy to Old Age: A Study of the CODATwins Project.
    Jelenkovic A, Yokoyama Y, Sund R, Honda C, Bogl LH, Aaltonen S, Ji F, Ning F, Pang Z, Ordoñana JR, Sánchez-Romera JF, Colodro-Conde L, Burt SA, Klump KL, Medland SE, Montgomery GW, Kandler C, McAdams TA, Eley TC, Gregory AM, Saudino KJ, Dubois L, Boivin M, Tarnoki AD, Tarnoki DL, Haworth CM, Plomin R, Öncel SY, Aliev F, Stazi MA, Fagnani C, D'Ippolito C, Craig JM, Saffery R, Siribaddana SH, Hotopf M, Sumathipala A, Rijsdijk F, Spector T, Mangino M, Lachance G, Gatz M, Butler DA, Bayasgalan G, Narandalai D, Freitas DL, Maia JA, Harden KP, Tucker-Drob EM, Kim B, Chong Y, Hong C, Shin HJ, Christensen K, Skytthe A, Kyvik KO, Derom CA, Vlietinck RF, Loos RJ, Cozen W, Hwang AE, Mack TM, He M, Ding X, Chang B, Silberg JL, Eaves LJ, Maes HH, Cutler TL, Hopper JL, Aujard K, Magnusson PK, Pedersen NL, Aslan AK, Song YM, Yang S, Lee K, Baker LA, Tuvblad C, Bjerregaard-Andersen M, Beck-Nielsen H, Sodemann M, Heikkilä K, Tan Q, Zhang D, Swan GE, Krasnow R, Jang KL, Knafo-Noam A, Mankuta D, Abramson L, Lichtenstein P, Krueger RF, McGue M, Pahlen S, Tynelius P, Duncan GE, Buchwald D, Corley RP, Huibregtse BM, Nelson TL, Whitfield KE, Franz CE, Kremen WS, Lyons MJ, Ooki S, Brandt I, Nilsen TS, Inui F, Watanabe M, Bartels M, van Beijsterveldt TC, Wardle J, Llewellyn CH, Fisher A, Rebato E, Martin NG, Iwatani Y, Hayakawa K, Sung J, Harris JR, Willemsen G, Busjahn A, Goldberg JH, Rasmussen F, Hur YM, Boomsma DI, Sørensen TI, Kaprio J, Silventoinen K. Jelenkovic A, et al. Twin Res Hum Genet. 2015 Oct;18(5):557-70. doi: 10.1017/thg.2015.57. Epub 2015 Sep 4. Twin Res Hum Genet. 2015. PMID: 26337138 Free PMC article.
  • Epidemiology of twinning in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, 1997 to 2007.
    Dawson AL, Tinker SC, Jamieson DJ, Hobbs CA, Rasmussen SA, Reefhuis J; National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Dawson AL, et al. Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol. 2015 Feb;103(2):85-99. doi: 10.1002/bdra.23325. Epub 2014 Oct 31. Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol. 2015. PMID: 25359509 Free PMC article.
See all "Cited by" articles

LinkOut - more resources