Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) Gene Polymorphism and Infant's Anthropometry at Birth

This research was funded by the Institute of Health Carlos III (PI13/01559), including the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) and the Regional Health Council of Andalusia (Spain) (PI-0405-2014).
This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and the protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of “Consejería de Salud y Familias, Junta de Andalucía” (PI-0405-2014). and “Consejería de Igualdad, Salud y Políticas Sociales, Junta de Andalucía” (PI13/01559)We follow the standards described in Andalusian and Spanish laws of personal data protection and biomedical research for the treatment of information and biological samples of human origin.
Women were informed of all study procedures and gave their informed consent for inclusion before they participated in the study.
The authors thank the team of the i-Diet software for their support in the estimation of daily energy and nutrient intake. Likewise, a special mention to the pregnant women who participated in this study and the health professionals from El Poniente Hospital, Almeria.
Identification of causal factors that influence fetal growth and anthropometry at birth is of great importance as they provide information about increased risk of disease throughout life. The association between maternal genetic polymorphism MTHFR(677)C>T and anthropometry at birth has been widely studied because of its key role in the one-carbon cycle. MTHFR(677) CT and TT genotypes have been associated with a greater risk of low birth weight, especially in case of deficient intake of folic acid during pregnancy. This study aimed to analyze the association between the maternal MTHFR(677)C>T genetic polymorphism and anthropometry at birth in a population with adequate folate consumption. We included 694 mother-newborn pairs from a prospective population-based birth cohort in Spain, in the Genetics, Early life enviroNmental Exposures and Infant Development in Andalusia (GENEIDA) project. Women were genotyped for MTHFR(677)C>T SNP by Q-PCR using TaqMan (c) probes. Relevant maternal and newborn information was obtained from structured questionnaires and medical records. Results showed that maternal MTHFR(677)C>T genotype was associated with newborn anthropometry. Genotypes CT or CT/TT showed statistically significant associations with increased or decreased risk of large-for-gestational-age (LGA) or small-for-gestational-age (SGA) based on weight and height, depending on the newborn's sex, as well as with SGA in premature neonates. The relationships between this maternal genotype and anthropometry at birth remained despite an adequate maternal folate intake.
Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI13/01559
European Commission
Regional Health Council of Andalusia (Spain) PI-0405-2014