The Guinea-Bissau Twin Registry Update: A Platform for Studying Twin Mortality and Metabolic Disease.
Twin Res Hum Genet
; 22(6): 554-560, 2019 12.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31317858
ABSTRACT
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest natural twinning rate in the world. Unfortunately, due to lack of adequate care during pregnancy, labor and postnatally, twin mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa also remains very high. Thus, it has been estimated that one in five twins dies during the childhood years. In spite of this, surprisingly few twin studies have been conducted in the region, making additional epidemiological data much needed. In 2009, we established one of the first twin registries in Sub-Saharan Africa at the Bandim Health Project in Guinea-Bissau. The registry had two main objectives. First, we wanted to describe the twinning rate and mortality patterns among newborn twins, including mortality risk factors and hospitalization patterns. Such studies can help the local clinicians improve twin health by identifying the most vulnerable children. Second, and in light of the rapidly increasing diabetes rates in Africa, we wanted to use the registry to particularly focus on metabolic disorders. Twins are often born with low birth weight, which according to the 'thrifty phenotype hypothesis' could predispose them to metabolic disorders later in life. Yet, no such 'fetal programming' data have previously been available from African twins despite the fact that nutritional patterns and influences from other factors (e.g., infections) could be markedly different here compared to high-income settings. In this article, we summarize the findings and current status of the Guinea-Bissau twin registry.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Gemelos
/
Sistema de Registros
/
Mortalidad Infantil
/
Enfermedades en Gemelos
/
Enfermedades Metabólicas
Tipo de estudio:
Etiology_studies
/
Incidence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Infant
/
Male
/
Newborn
País/Región como asunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Twin Res Hum Genet
Asunto de la revista:
GENETICA MEDICA
Año:
2019
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Guinea Bissau