Journal of Translational Medicine (Sep 2023)

Long-term outcomes of offspring from multiple gestations: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study on multi-system diseases using UK Biobank and FinnGen databases

  • Yi Jiang,
  • Yuanyuan Du,
  • Rui Su,
  • Xuan Zhou,
  • Lijie Wei,
  • Jingyi Zhang,
  • Shenglan Zhu,
  • Huiting Zhang,
  • Chenyun Fang,
  • Yuting Chen,
  • Peng Gao,
  • Liangnan Zhang,
  • Shaoshuai Wang,
  • Jun Yu,
  • Mengzhou He,
  • Wencheng Ding,
  • Ling Feng

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967-023-04423-w
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 21, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

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Abstract Background Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) have increased the incidence of multiple births, which can have a negative impact on maternal and offspring health. The study aimed to investigate the association between genetically predicted multiple birth and the risk of 42 common diseases of the nervous, psychiatric, cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, and endocrine systems. Methods The study utilized two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to explore the potential causal relationship between genetically predicted multiple birth and the genetically predicted risk of diseases. The study used the FinnGen and UK Biobank datasets for analysis. Results The study found no significant causal relationship between multiple birth and psychiatric disorders. However, the lower limits of the 95% confidence intervals for bipolar affective disorder and anxiety disorders were not robust, indicating a need for further investigation. The study found that multiple birth may be a strong risk factor for infantile cerebral palsy, and caution is necessary in both natural and ART multiple births. The study revealed a potential causal relationship between multiple birth and coronary heart disease, ischemic heart disease, and deep vein thrombosis, which may be related to abnormal intrauterine environments in multiple pregnancies. Surprisingly, multiple birth appears to have a protective effect against some respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Conclusions The study highlights the need for caution regarding the risk of infantile cerebral palsy, cardiovascular diseases, and psychiatric disorders in multiple birth. Our study can lead to the development of preventive strategies and improved clinical management for affected infants.

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