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
em 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.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Gêmeos
/
Sistema de Registros
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Mortalidade Infantil
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Doenças em Gêmeos
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Doenças Metabólicas
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
/
Incidence_studies
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Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adolescent
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Adult
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Child
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Child, preschool
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Female
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Humans
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Infant
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Male
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Newborn
País/Região como assunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Twin Res Hum Genet
Assunto da revista:
GENETICA MEDICA
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Guiné-Bissau