ABSTRACT
Abstract
Objective:
To study the
association between placental
efficiency with
anthropometry and nutritional
phenotypes in full-term
newborns from a
birth cohort.
Method:
This was a
secondary cross-sectional analysis of data obtained in a
cohort study (Brazilian RibeirãoPreto and São Luís
Birth Cohort Studies - BRISA), whose deliveries were performed between 2010 and 2011. Standardized
questionnaires were applied to
mothers, and
placentas and
newborns were evaluated shortly after delivery. Placental
efficiency was assessed using the ratio between
birth weight and placental weight (BW/PW ratio); values below the lower quartile (25th percentile for
gestational age) were considered to have low placental
efficiency.
Newborn phenotypes were small and large for
gestational age, stunted and wasted, evaluated using the INTERGROWTH-21
growth standard. To identify the
confounding variables theoretical model was constructed using Directed Acyclic Graphs, and unadjusted and adjusted
logistic regression were performed. Placental measurements were obtained blindly from
pregnancy and delivery data.
Results:
723
mother-
placenta-
child triads were studied. 3.2 % of
newborns were small-for-gestational-age (SGA), 6.5 %large-for-gestational-age (LGA), 5.7 %had
stunting, and 0.27 % wasting. A significantly higher
risk was found between low placental
efficiency and SGA (OR 2.82;95 % CI 1.05-7.57),
stunting (OR 2.23; 95 % CI 1.07-4.65), and wasting (OR 8.22; 95 % CI 1.96-34.37). No relationship was found between LGA and placental
efficiency.
Conclusions:
Low placental
efficiency was associated with increased
risk for small-for-gestational-age,
stunting, and wasting. Placental morphometry can provide valuable information on intrauterine conditions and
neonatal health, helping to identify
newborns at higher
risk of
future comorbidities.
