title: Gastroschisis and young mothers: What makes them different from other mothers of the same age?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although young maternal age has been identified as a risk factor for gastroschisis, its role remains undisclosed. To our knowledge, the differences between young mothers of infants with gastroschisis and young mothers of infants with other pregnancy outcomes have not been established. The aim of this work was to compare characteristics of young mothers whose newborn had gastroschisis with same aged mothers of malformed and nonmalformed control infants, diagnosed within the ECLAMC maternity hospital network.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data base records of live and stillborn infants of one of three groups (with isolated gastroschisis, with 1 of 5 other isolated birth defects, and nonmalformed), and whose mothers were younger than 20 years, were selected. Secular trends were obtained for all birth defects; frequencies and odds ratios (OR) of demographic and reproductive variables were compared among the 3 groups. Significantly associated variables were adjusted with a multivariate regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The association was higher with gastroschisis 1) than with other birth defects for African ancestry, smoking, adequate prenatal control and diagnosis 2) than with nonmalformed controls for maternal illnesses and alcohol 3) and than both for previous pregnancy loss and medication, mainly sex hormones. After adjustment, only previous pregnancy loss maintained its significance when compared with malformed (OR = 2.34; 1.37-3.97; P = 0.002), as well as with nonmalformed (OR = 3.43; 2.07-5.66; P < 0.001) controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A previous pregnancy loss was identified as the main risk factor for gastroschisis, while an increased use of sex hormones, perhaps related to the previous loss, could trigger a disruptive mechanism, due to their thrombophilic effect.
authors.affiliation: Latin American Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECLAMC) at Hospital Materno Infantil Ramón Sardá, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rittler
authors.affiliation: ECLAMC at Department of Research, CEMIC (Center for Medical Education and Clinical Research), Buenos Aires, Argentina.|Commission of Scientific Research (CIC), La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Hebe
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Campaña
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Hospital Italiano, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Monica L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ermini
authors.affiliation: ECLAMC at Department of Research, CEMIC (Center for Medical Education and Clinical Research), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Juan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Gili
authors.affiliation: ECLAMC at Department of Research, CEMIC (Center for Medical Education and Clinical Research), Buenos Aires, Argentina.|National Institute of Population Medical Genetics (INAGEMP) at Laboratório de Epidemiologia de Malformações Congênitas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernando A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Poletta
authors.affiliation: ECLAMC at Department of Research, CEMIC (Center for Medical Education and Clinical Research), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Mariela S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Pawluk
authors.affiliation: ECLAMC at Department of Research, CEMIC (Center for Medical Education and Clinical Research), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Lucas G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Giménez
authors.affiliation: ECLAMC at Department of Research, CEMIC (Center for Medical Education and Clinical Research), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Viviana R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Cosentino
authors.affiliation: ECLAMC at Department of Research, CEMIC (Center for Medical Education and Clinical Research), Buenos Aires, Argentina.|National Institute of Population Medical Genetics (INAGEMP) at Laboratório de Epidemiologia de Malformações Congênitas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eduardo E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Castilla
authors.affiliation: ECLAMC at Department of Research, CEMIC (Center for Medical Education and Clinical Research), Buenos Aires, Argentina.|National Institute of Population Medical Genetics (INAGEMP) at Laboratório de Epidemiologia de Malformações Congênitas, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jorge S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: López-Camelo
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D001118:Argentina / Q000453:epidemiology; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D020139:Gastroschisis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008423:Maternal Age; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011247:Pregnancy; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones
keywords: ECLAMC; gastroschisis; maternal age; previous pregnancy loss; risk factors; sex hormones; thrombosis