title: Gynecologic age is an important risk factor for obstetric and perinatal outcomes in adolescent pregnancies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Adolescent pregnancy is an important public health problem. Physiological maturity affects obstetric and perinatal outcomes. Almost all assessments of adolescent pregnancies are based on chronological age. Gynecologic age (GA) is defined as age in years at conception minus age at menarche and it is an indicator of physiological maturity.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare obstetric and perinatal outcomes between adult and adolescent pregnancies as categorized according to GA.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this retrospective study, 233 adolescent pregnant women were divided into two groups based on GA≤3 years (101 women) and GA>3 years (132 women). Their obstetric and perinatal results were compared with 202 adult pregnancies who gave birth in the same period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Gestational age at delivery, APGAR scores, birth weight, and incidence of preterm birth, admission to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), intrauterine growth restriction, low birth weight, and premature rupture of membranes were significantly different between the study groups. Compared to adolescent pregnancies with GA>3 years, adolescent pregnancies with GA≤3 years had significantly lower birth weight, gestational age, APGAR scores, and significantly higher incidence of intrauterine growth restriction, low birth weight and admission to NICU.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low GA is associated with an increased rate of obstetric and perinatal complications in adolescent pregnancies. Although the main aim is the prevention of adolescent pregnancies, a detailed evaluation of such pregnancies including determination of the gynecological age together with a multidisciplinary approach may decrease potential complications.
authors.affiliation: Adiyaman University School of Medicine, Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, Adiyaman, Turkey. Electronic address: mustafakaplanoglu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaplanoglu
authors.affiliation: Adiyaman University School of Medicine, Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, Adiyaman, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bülbül
authors.affiliation: Adiyaman University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Adiyaman, Turkey.
authors.forename: Capan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Konca
authors.affiliation: Adiyaman University Education and Research Hospital, Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, Adiyaman, Turkey.
authors.forename: Dilek
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kaplanoglu
authors.affiliation: Adiyaman University School of Medicine, Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, Adiyaman, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehmet Selcuk
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Tabak
authors.affiliation: Koç University School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, İstanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Barıs
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ata
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001034:Apgar Score; D001724:Birth Weight; D002648:Child; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008423:Maternal Age; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000209:etiology*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence; D047928:Premature Birth; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adolescent pregnancy; Gynecologic age; Obstetric and preinatal outcomes; Physiological maturity; Risk factor