Temporal changes in chromosome abnormalities in human spontaneous abortions: Results of 40 years of analysis.
Studies during the past 50 years demonstrate the importance of chromosome abnormalities to the occurrence of early pregnancy loss in humans. Intriguingly, there appears to be considerable variation in the rates of chromosome abnormality, with more recent studies typically reporting higher levels than those reported in early studies of spontaneous abortions. We were interested in examining the basis for these differences and accordingly, we reviewed studies of spontaneous abortions conducted in our laboratories over a 40-year-time span. Our analyses confirm a higher rate of abnormality in more recent series of spontaneous abortions, but indicate that the effect is largely, if not entirely, attributable to changes over time in the maternal age structures of the study populations. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Cyto Labs Pty Ltd., Perth, Australia.
Kathy
K
Hardy
Cyto Labs Pty Ltd., Perth, Australia.
Philip J
PJ
Hardy
Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.
Patricia A
PA
Jacobs
Washington State University, Pullman, Washington.
Kevin
K
Lewallen
Washington State University, Pullman, Washington. terryhassold@wsu.edu.
Terry J
TJ
Hassold
D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000266:history; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D066264:Datasets as Topic; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D059785:Karyotype; D008423:Maternal Age; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011247:Pregnancy; D012744:Sex Ratio; D014314:Trisomy
maternal age; spontaneous abortion; temporal trends; trisomy