Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-m42fx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-16T17:45:45.862Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Health Characteristics of Mothers of Twins

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

Grace Wyshak
Grace Wyshak*
Affiliation:
Center for Population Studies and Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
*
Center for Population Studies, Harvard University, 9 Bow Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Mothers of twins, as compared with mothers of singletons, are taller, and for a given height are heavier; they have slightly earlier menarche and menopause. Our recent studies have shown that mothers of DZ twins are at greater risk of cancer of the pancreas (but not for cancers of other sites), as well as of death due to diabetes, other endocrine diseases, and allergies. These findings are consistent with the clinical and epidemiological literature. We have also found that singleton siblings of twins are slightly heavier at birth than children born into sibships consisting of singletons only. The need for further research on the characteristics and long-term health of mothers of twins is indicated.

Keywords

Twin bearersMenarcheMenopauseCancerDiabetesEndocrine diseasesBirthweight
Type
Research Article
Information
Acta geneticae medicae et gemellologiae: twin research , Volume 33 , Issue 1 , January 1984 , pp. 141 - 145
Copyright
Copyright © The International Society for Twin Studies 1984

References

REFERENCES

1.Bulmer, MG (1970): The Biology of Twinning in Man. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
2.Burch, PRJ (1969): Klinefelter's syndrome, dizygotic twinning and diabetes mellitus. Nature 221:175–177.Google Scholar
3.Corney, G, Seedburgh, B, Thompson, B, Campbell, DM, MacGillivray, I, Timlin, D (1981): Multiple and singleton pregnancy: differences between mothers as well as offspring. Prog Clin Biol Res 69A:107–114.Google ScholarPubMed
4.DeGeorge, FV (1970): Maternal thyroid disease and twinning. Nature 228:681.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Fluhmann, CF (1956): The Management of Menstrual Disorders. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, p. 214.Google Scholar
6.Gedda, L, Segni, G, Andreani, D, Casa, D, DiMarco, G (1970): Diabete e gemellogenesi. Acta Genet Med Gemellol 19:87–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.McMichael, AJ, Potter, JD (1980): Reproduction, endogenous and exogenous sex hormones and colon cancer: a review and hypothesis. J Nat Cancer Inst 65:1201–1207.Google Scholar
8.Nylander, PPS (1973): Serum levels of gonadotrophins in relation to multiple births in Nigeria. J Obstet Gynaecol Br Commonw 80:651–653.Google Scholar
9.Soloway, HB, Sommers, SC (1966): Endocrinopathy associated with pancreatic carcinomas: review of host factors including hyperplasia and gonadotropic activity. Ann Surg 164:300–304.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Soma, H, Takayama, M, Kiyokawa, T, Akeda, T, Tokaro, K (1975): Serum gonadotropin levels in Japanese women. Obstet Gynaecol 46:311–312.Google Scholar
11.Wynder, EL, Mabuchi, K, Maruchi, N, Fortner, JG (1973):Epidemiology of cancer of the pancreas. J Nat Cancer Inst 50:645–667.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Wyshak, G (1978): Menopause in mothers of multiple births and mothers of singletons only. Soc Biol 25:52–61.Google Scholar
13.Wyshak, G (1981): Reproductive and menstrual characteristics of mothers of multiple births and mothers of singletons only: a discriminant analysis. Prog Clin Biol Res 69A:95–106.Google Scholar
14.Wyshak, G, Honeyman, MS, Flannery, JT, Beck, AS (1983): Cancer in mothers of dizygous twins. J Nat Cancer Inst 70:593–599.Google Scholar
15.Wyshak, G, Honeyman, MS (1983): Increased deaths due to endocrine system diseases and allergies among mothers of dizygotic twins. Metabolism (in press).Google Scholar