Background: Twin birth may account for a higher incidence rates of infants and neonates. To investigate the potential relationship between twin birth and infant and neonatal mortality rates, a systematic review was conducted.Methodology: To gather the evidence for the relationship between twin birth and its potential effect on mortality during infancy and neonatal periods, a systematic re...

BACKGROUND Sex differences in structural birth defects are often confounded by environmental risk factors. Opposite-sex twins provide a unique model for detecting sex differences in birth defects while maximally controlling environmental risk factors in a natural setting. METHODS Population data from the Florida Birth Defects Registry were analyzed. A total of 4,768 pairs of twins who were di...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the long-term neurodevelopmental outcome in children after twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. STUDY DESIGN Maternal and neonatal medical records of all twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome patients who were admitted to our center between 1990 and 1998 were reviewed. Neurologic and mental development at school age was assessed during a home vis...

lyzed our study population by dividing the births within each gestational age category into smaller and larger birth weights by their z score of birth weight by gestational age. Adjusting for gestational week within each category as well as year of birth, larger infants did have the best survival for any given gestational age. For 22 to 27, 28 to 32, 33 to 36, and 37 to 42 weeks, the relative r...

Genetic and environmental inputs may shape population health disparities in varying ways. In this article, we use unique variation involved in twin births to attempt to untangle how genetic and prenatal environmental variation may make different contributions to infant health among white and black populations in the United States. Using twin fixed effects models and data from the 1995-1997 Matc...

Research on unusually long birth intervals between twin and triplet deliveries is reviewed. A recent multicentre study reported gestational and survival data for 35 multiple birth sets from 12 centers, and evaluated conservative treatment strategies for mothers delivering one twin fetus. Next, findings from three recent twin studies are reviewed: effects of close inter-twin communication on lon...

A large sheep dataset including ewe and progeny records from 1982 through to 2006 was used in the present study. The data included the variables: sex of lamb, birth rank, weaning weight, year born and dam and sire. The aim was to firstly, determine if the age of the ewe’s dam, or the birth rank of the ewe affected her lifetime performance and secondly, to determine in twin-born lambs if the sex...

BACKGROUND The intrauterine environment may be a critical period for the development of hypertension in later life. In the present study, we applied the twin approach to estimate the contribution of genetic and environmental causes that may underlie the birth weight-adult blood pressure association. METHODS AND RESULTS Birth weights of 418 twin pairs were obtained prospectively, and resting a...

This study examines the value of assessing inter-twin membrane folding in monochorionic twin pregnancies in the prediction of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. In 83 monochorionic twin pregnancies ultrasound scans were carried out at 10-14, 15-17 and 19-21 weeks to investigate folding of the inter-twin membrane as an early sonographic feature of inter-twin discrepancy in amniotic fluid volume....