Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T20:18:55.062Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Epidemiology of Multiple Pregnancies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

F. Parazzini ,
A. Villa ,
S. Moroni ,
L. Tozzi  and
S. Restelli
F. Parazzini*
Affiliation:
The “Mario Negri” Istitute of Pharmacological Research, Milan, Italy Ist. Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Milan, Italy
A. Villa
Affiliation:
The “Mario Negri” Istitute of Pharmacological Research, Milan, Italy Ist. Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Milan, Italy
S. Moroni
Affiliation:
Ist. Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Milan, Italy
L. Tozzi
Affiliation:
The “Mario Negri” Istitute of Pharmacological Research, Milan, Italy
S. Restelli
Affiliation:
The “Mario Negri” Istitute of Pharmacological Research, Milan, Italy
*
Istituto “Mario Negri”, Via Eritrea 62, 20157 Milan, Italy

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.

Over the last decades the frequency of multiple births has been on the decline in most developed countries. This trend, however, has been restricted to dizygotic twins, while monozygotic rates have remained stable or risen slowly. In more recent years, however, the fall in multiple dizygotic birth rates has ceased and a slight increase is observed. This trend and the increased frequency of triplets or higher-order births, registered from the early 1980s onwards, are essentially related to treatments for infertility. No single risk factor, such as maternal age, parity, oral contraceptive use, or declining fertility rates can explain the overall declining trends. In this paper we review the descriptive epidemiology and the main risk factors for multiple pregnancies.

Keywords

EpidemiologyRisk factorsMultiple pregnancies
Type
Research Article
Information
Acta geneticae medicae et gemellologiae: twin research , Volume 43 , Issue 1-2 , April 1994 , pp. 17 - 23
Copyright
Copyright © The International Society for Twin Studies 1994

References

REFERENCES

1. Alberman, E (1987): Multiple births. Br Med J 295:510.Google Scholar
2. Bonnelykke, B, Sogaard, J, Nielsen, J (1987): Seasonality in twin birth rates, Denmark, 1936-1984. J Epidemiol Community Health 41:338–343.Google Scholar
3. Botting, BJ, Macdonald Davies, I, Macfarlane, AJ (1987): Recent trends in the incidence of multiple births and associated mortality. Arch Dis Child 941–950.Google Scholar
4. Braken, MB (1979): Oral contraception and twinning: An epidemiologic study. Am J Obstet Gynecol 133:432–434.Google Scholar
5. Editorial (1976): World decline in dizygotic twinning. Br Med J 1:1553.Google Scholar
6. Elwood, JM (1983): Changes in the twinning rate in Canada, 1926-70. Br J Prev Soc Med 27: 236–241.Google Scholar
7. Elwood, JM (1983): The end of the drop in twinning rates? Lancet I: 470.Google Scholar
8. Eriksson, AW, Fellman, J (1967): Twinning in relation to the marital status of the mother. Acta Genet Stat Med 17:385–398.Google Scholar
9. Hemon, D, Berger, C, Lazar, P (1979): Analyses des variation géographiques de la fréquence des accouchements gémellaires en France. Une approche indirecte de l'étude des avortements spontanés. Rev Epidemiol Santé Publique 27:91–99.Google Scholar
10. James, WH (1972): Secular changes in dizygotic twinning rates. J Biosoc Sci 4: 427–434.Google Scholar
11. James, WH (1978): A hypothesis on the declining dizygotic twinning rates in developed countries. Prog Clin Biol Res 24B: 81–88.Google Scholar
12. James, WH (1980): Hypothesis on the causes of the decline in dizygotic twinning rates. Rev Epidémiol Santé Publique 28:497–502.Google Scholar
13. MacGillivray, I, Samphier, M, Little, J (1988): Factors affecting twinning. In: MacGillivray, I, Campbell, DM, Thompson, B (eds): “Twinning and Twins”. New York: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 67–90.Google Scholar
14. Métneki, J, Czeizel, A (1983): Twinning rates. Lancet I, 935.Google Scholar
15. Murphy, M, Botting, B (1989): Twinning rates and social class in Great Britain. Arch Dis Child 64: 272–274.Google Scholar
16. Nylander, PPS (1978): Causes of high twinning frequencies in Nigeria. In: Nance, WE (ed): Twin research: Part B, Biology and Epidemiology. New York: Alan R. Liss, pp. 35–43.Google Scholar
17. Parazzini, F, Tozzi, L, Mezzanotte, G, Bocciolone, L, La Vecchia, C, Fedele, L, Benzi, G (1991): Trends in multiple births in Italy: 1955-1983, Br J Obstet Gynaecol 98:535–539.Google Scholar
18. Parazzini, F, Tozzi, L, Ferraroni, M, Bocciolone, L, Molteni, E, Moreschi, C, Fedele, L (1993): Risk factors for multiple births. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 72:177–180.Google Scholar
19. Rothman, KJ (1977): Fetal loss, twinning and birth weight after oral contraceptive use. N Eng J Med 297:468–471.Google Scholar
20. Smith, T (1989): More triplets than ever. Br Med J 298:1665–1671.Google Scholar
21. Tuppin, P, Blondel, B, Kaminski, M (1993): Trends in multiple deliveries and infertility treatments in France. Br J Obstet Gynaecol.Google Scholar
22. Webster, F, Elwood, JM (1985): A study of the influence of ovulation stimulants and oral contraception on twin births in England. Acta Genet Med Gemellol 34:105–108.Google Scholar
23. Wyshak, G (1981): Reproduction and menstrual characteristics of mothers of multiple births and mothers of singletons only: A discriminant analysis. In: Gedda, L, Parisi, P, Nance, WE (eds): Twin research 3: Part A, Twin Biology and Multiple Pregnancy. New York: Alan R. Liss, pp. 95–105.Google Scholar
24. Zahalkova, M, Zudova, Z (1984): Spontaneous abortions and twinning. Acta Genet Med Gemellol 33:25–26.Google Scholar