BACKGROUND: The natural dizygotic (DZ) twinning rate has been proposed as a reliable and useful measure of human fecundity, if adjusted for maternal age at twin birth. The aim of this study was to analyze age-adjusted trends in natural DZ twinning rates over the past 40 years using data from the 'East Flanders Prospective Twin Survey (EFPTS)'. METHODS: This study involved 4835 naturally conceived twin pregnancies between 1969 and 2009 from the population-based Belgian 'EFPTS'. Age-adjusted trends in the incidence of natural DZ twin pregnancies were calculated using a generalized linear model with Poisson distribution. RESULTS: Both the natural DZ twinning rates and maternal age at twin birth increased in a linear fashion from 1969 to 2009. When age-adjusted, we found that the trend in the natural DZ twinning rate was stable during the whole time period. CONCLUSIONS: According to our population-based data and after age-adjustment, a stable natural DZ twinning rate could be observed over the last four decades. Under the assumption that the spontaneous DZ twinning rate is a sensor of fecundity, this indicates a stable 'high' fecundity for this population.
BACKGROUND: The natural dizygotic (DZ) twinning rate has been proposed as a reliable and useful measure of human fecundity, if adjusted for maternal age at twin birth. The aim of this study was to analyze age-adjusted trends in natural DZ twinning rates over the past 40 years using data from the 'East Flanders Prospective Twin Survey (EFPTS)'. METHODS: This study involved 4835 naturally conceived twin pregnancies between 1969 and 2009 from the population-based Belgian 'EFPTS'. Age-adjusted trends in the incidence of natural DZ twin pregnancies were calculated using a generalized linear model with Poisson distribution. RESULTS: Both the natural DZ twinning rates and maternal age at twin birth increased in a linear fashion from 1969 to 2009. When age-adjusted, we found that the trend in the natural DZ twinning rate was stable during the whole time period. CONCLUSIONS: According to our population-based data and after age-adjustment, a stable natural DZ twinning rate could be observed over the last four decades. Under the assumption that the spontaneous DZ twinning rate is a sensor of fecundity, this indicates a stable 'high' fecundity for this population.
Authors: April L Dawson; Sarah C Tinker; Denise J Jamieson; Charlotte A Hobbs; Sonja A Rasmussen; Jennita Reefhuis Journal: Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol Date: 2014-10-31
Authors: Karri Silventoinen; Aline Jelenkovic; Antti Latvala; Reijo Sund; Yoshie Yokoyama; Vilhelmina Ullemar; Catarina Almqvist; Catherine A Derom; Robert F Vlietinck; Ruth J F Loos; Christian Kandler; Chika Honda; Fujio Inui; Yoshinori Iwatani; Mikio Watanabe; Esther Rebato; Maria A Stazi; Corrado Fagnani; Sonia Brescianini; Yoon-Mi Hur; Hoe-Uk Jeong; Tessa L Cutler; John L Hopper; Andreas Busjahn; Kimberly J Saudino; Fuling Ji; Feng Ning; Zengchang Pang; Richard J Rose; Markku Koskenvuo; Kauko Heikkilä; Wendy Cozen; Amie E Hwang; Thomas M Mack; Sisira H Siribaddana; Matthew Hotopf; Athula Sumathipala; Fruhling Rijsdijk; Joohon Sung; Jina Kim; Jooyeon Lee; Sooji Lee; Tracy L Nelson; Keith E Whitfield; Qihua Tan; Dongfeng Zhang; Clare H Llewellyn; Abigail Fisher; S Alexandra Burt; Kelly L Klump; Ariel Knafo-Noam; David Mankuta; Lior Abramson; Sarah E Medland; Nicholas G Martin; Grant W Montgomery; Patrik K E Magnusson; Nancy L Pedersen; Anna K Dahl Aslan; Robin P Corley; Brooke M Huibregtse; Sevgi Y Öncel; Fazil Aliev; Robert F Krueger; Matt McGue; Shandell Pahlen; Gonneke Willemsen; Meike Bartels; Catharina E M van Beijsterveldt; Judy L Silberg; Lindon J Eaves; Hermine H Maes; Jennifer R Harris; Ingunn Brandt; Thomas S Nilsen; Finn Rasmussen; Per Tynelius; Laura A Baker; Catherine Tuvblad; Juan R Ordoñana; Juan F Sánchez-Romera; Lucia Colodro-Conde; Margaret Gatz; David A Butler; Paul Lichtenstein; Jack H Goldberg; K Paige Harden; Elliot M Tucker-Drob; Glen E Duncan; Dedra Buchwald; Adam D Tarnoki; David L Tarnoki; Carol E Franz; William S Kremen; Michael J Lyons; José A Maia; Duarte L Freitas; Eric Turkheimer; Thorkild I A Sørensen; Dorret I Boomsma; Jaakko Kaprio Journal: Twin Res Hum Genet Date: 2017-10 Impact factor: 1.587